4 ms·

I agree. The idea that there is always a right answer has been a fiction for the entire history of the game. Take away the box on the screen and there are stil

I agree. The idea that there is always a right answer has been a fiction for the entire history of the game. Take away the box on the screen and there are still some obviously bad calls, but there are many more calls that no one but the batter, catcher, and umpire could credibly debate about. There are measurable differences in the skill with which a catcher catches the ball. [0] And frankly, without the box there, many people wouldn't have batted an eye at this pitch [1] (watch the video). No one in the game did! It's sad to me that many people care more about the box than about that human experience of the game. One of the great things about sports is that it isn't fair—it teaches us about life in that and other ways. And particularly in baseball, with 162 games and 24,000 pitches in a season [2], variations tend to come out in the wash, even as individual games and pitches feel really meaningful. [0] https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/catcher_framing?year=2019&team=&min=q&sort=4,1 https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/catcher_framing?year=2019&tea... [1] https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-worst-called-ball-on-record/ https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-worst-called-ball-on-record/ [2] https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2019-pitches-pitching.shtml https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2019-pitches-...

Dylan16807 5y ago
> The idea that there is always a right answer has been a fiction for the entire history of the game. The rule is right there. If the rule is a lie, it should not be there. > And frankly, without the box there, many people wouldn't have batted an eye at this pitch It's moving fast and involves tracking something in 3d space from a far-away camera. You could trick me super easily, but I'm not sure what that proves. > One of the great things about sports is that it isn't fair Yikes. I'm really unconvinced that if things were more fair, you'd be arguing they should become less fair.
- GavinMcG 5y ago
  That's because you imagine fairness can be adjusted on its own. I wouldn't say I want the game to be less fair as a primary value. But imagine I say I want the game to be more X, Y, or Z, and you respond that those changes would make it less fair. It's not hard to imagine accepting that tradeoff for some things that make the game better. Before the Rockies existed, adding a team at high altitude where the ball carries farther could have been seen as less fair, because batters for that team would have an easier time breaking home run records. But so what? Camden Yards is one of the best stadiums in baseball. It's only 318 feet down the right field line. But so what? The rule isn't a lie. It's just enforced by humans. Should speed limits not exist, just because you can often exceed the limit and not get a ticket? I sure don't want to live in a world where every street has automatic enforcement.
  - thatcat 5y ago
    Speed limits are a bad rule that is used bc it is easier to measure. Following distance is a better metric bc it is more closely aligned with the goal of safety, but harder to determine by a human.

Dylan16807 5y ago

> The idea that there is always a right answer has been a fiction for the entire history of the game. The rule is right there. If the rule is a lie, it should not be there. > And frankly, without the box there, many people wouldn't have batted an eye at this pitch It's moving fast and involves tracking something in 3d space from a far-away camera. You could trick me super easily, but I'm not sure what that proves. > One of the great things about sports is that it isn't fair Yikes. I'm really unconvinced that if things were more fair, you'd be arguing they should become less fair.

GavinMcG 5y ago
That's because you imagine fairness can be adjusted on its own. I wouldn't say I want the game to be less fair as a primary value. But imagine I say I want the game to be more X, Y, or Z, and you respond that those changes would make it less fair. It's not hard to imagine accepting that tradeoff for some things that make the game better. Before the Rockies existed, adding a team at high altitude where the ball carries farther could have been seen as less fair, because batters for that team would have an easier time breaking home run records. But so what? Camden Yards is one of the best stadiums in baseball. It's only 318 feet down the right field line. But so what? The rule isn't a lie. It's just enforced by humans. Should speed limits not exist, just because you can often exceed the limit and not get a ticket? I sure don't want to live in a world where every street has automatic enforcement.
- thatcat 5y ago
  Speed limits are a bad rule that is used bc it is easier to measure. Following distance is a better metric bc it is more closely aligned with the goal of safety, but harder to determine by a human.