Mookie Betts shares his preference between human and robot umpires

Feb 26, 2020; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts (50) looks on prior to a spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Major League Baseball is planning to implement an automatic strike zone as early as 2024, and Mookie Betts does not sound thrilled about the potential change.

Betts is part of a large faction of people who are in favor of keeping the “human element” in baseball, even if it results in the occasional bad call. The Los Angeles Dodgers star shared some of his thoughts on robot umpires during a Tuesday appearance on Outkick 360.

“I would do either, because as athletes you would get used to either one,” Betts said. “But if I had a choice and I had a vote, I would definitely say keep the human element of the game. I just enjoy that. If (an umpire) is missing one side of the plate, you can use it to your advantage. Or, maybe that’s the reason you lost. Whatever it is, I just enjoy the human side of games.”

Betts said he feels using so-called robot umpires would just be another example of sports becoming too “technical.”

“Sports, really, in general has just gone so technical and so analytical that you just kind of lose touch with the whole sport,” he added. “It kind of sucks, but that’s just where life is kind of going toward.”

Betts certainly is not the only one who feels that way. We have seen some awful ball-strike calls impact the outcome of games, but a lot of people feel that is the way it is supposed to be. The argument against that, of course, is that the technology to automate the strike zone did not exist in past eras.

MLB tested the automatic strike zone during the Arizona Fall League, and the results were not good at all. Still, they seem intent on implementing it at some point.