Player ejected for arguing with a robot
San Francisco Giants prospect Jacob Heyward was ejected from an Arizona Fall League game on Tuesday for arguing after taking a called strike three. It’s not the first and it won’t be the last time a player is tossed for venting frustrations over balls and strikes, but Heyward may have made history with his ejection.
He apparently took issue with a call made by a “robot umpire.”
During a game on Tuesday evening, Heyward was called out on a curveball that ended up down around his ankles by the time the opposing catcher caught the ball. However, the technology in use determined that the pitch actually crossed through the lower, inside corner of the strike zone as it passed home plate.
The Arizona Fall League is testing technology for an electronic strike zone and balls and strikes, which Major League Baseball calls the automated ballstrike (ABS) system. The technology is being deployed for games at Salt River Fields, where Heyward and his teammates on the Scottsdale Scorpions are playing their home games this fall.
The ABS uses software to determine whether a pitch crossed through the strike zone, which is automatically adjusted for the height of each player. Home plate umpires wear a receiver and an earpiece so that when the ABS informs them of a ball or strike call, they can relay that to the field.
Heyward was upset with the call that led to his strikeout and video replay suggests he has a compelling argument. The opposing catcher made no effort to frame a pitch that was initially set up to be thrown on or slightly off the outside corner.
Video provided on MLB Pipeline’s Instagram page suggests Heyward didn’t do much arguing, but he said enough for the umpire tasked with relaying ball and strike calls to throw him out of Tuesday’s game.
Video also shows Heyward saying “I wasn’t even talking to you,” to the home plate umpire following his ejection.
Which begs the questions: Was he talking to the robot? Did he expect a reply? And what specific words in the “mind” of a robot — as with human umpires — merit ejection?
Just wondering.