As an experiment, several teams
in lower Class A Ball, (Southeast)
will use robot ball/strike umpires
called the “Automatic Ball/Strike System.”
It’s the beginning of the end
of baseball as we know it.
It’s like dancing without music,
theater without actors,
peanut butter without jelly.
It’s totally unacceptable.
In the age of tech,
have we become less than human?
Ballplayers will be deprived of the
opportunity to yell at the umpire.
Managers will be unable
to kick dirt over the plate.
What then will be next “advancement”?
Automaton pitchers throwing to
automaton batters with creaking machinery?
We might as well cancel the season
and turn major league baseball into
some kind of futuristic video game.
THE POETRY OF THE GAME