White Sox AAA team Charlotte Knights to use robot umpires

The Chicago White Sox are hoping that they get to play a baseball season at all. The Major League Baseball Players Association and Major League Baseball as a league are currently in the middle of a labor dispute which has caused a lockout. However, AAA is going to play and there is a new wrinkle to their league.

They are going to start using robot umpires down there to test it out. Major League Baseball may or may not one day adopt that rule but AAA is a great place to try it. The Chicago White Sox’s affiliate, the Charlotte Knights, is one of the ten teams that are going to be involved.

It is a very interesting concept. A machine is going to determine whether or not a pitch that isn’t swung at is a ball or a strike. Umpires in Major League Baseball have been under fire for the past few years with how bad some of their performances have been.

Games can’t be decided on pitches being called wrong. With social media as prominent as it is right now, it also makes the job that much harder for umpires because we can analyze every call and criticize it. As a result, it seems like this is the right path for baseball.

The Chicago White Sox has robot umpires coming to their AAA team.

The fact that one of the White Sox affiliates is involved will make it easier for us to keep track of as White Sox fans. We will be able to tune in to Charlotte Knights games and see it in action. Some of the players that spend time in AAA before getting called up this year will be able to share their experiences with the guys at the MLB level.

It is certainly going to be interesting to see how this works out. A lot of old-school baseball fans are going to dislike it and some of the newer fans will probably like it. A fair argument can be made for both sides but it certainly doesn’t hurt to try. At the end of the day, getting calls right is the most important thing and this might be a step towards that.