There was a first in professional baseball Wednesday night. A computer called balls and strikes in the independent Atlantic League All-Star Game in York, Pennsylvania.
The home plate umpire wore an earpiece connected to an iPhone in his pocket and relayed the ball or strike calls after getting them from a Track-Man computer system that uses Doppler Radar.
There were some delayed calls as pitcher Darryl Thompson said he already received the ball back from the catcher when the home plate umpire signaled a strike.
The umpire had the authority to override calls. One drawback to the system, it can not evaluate check swings.
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(Logo courtesy of the Atlantic League)