KBO AI Umpire System Introduction: A New Era for Baseball

Hello everyone! The opening of professional baseball is just around the corner! I think many of you have been waiting for this day. But did you know that the AI umpire system will be introduced starting this 2024 season? The AI umpire has been used in high school baseball and the Futures League in Korea. This is the first time it has been used in a major league worldwide, attracting a lot of attention.

ABS System

The AI umpire that the KBO will use is the ABS (Automatic Ball-Strike Judgment System). It automatically judges whether the ball thrown by the pitcher is a ball or a strike. It sets the strike zone based on the batter through a camera and tracks the ball to determine whether it's a strike. This judgment result is then conveyed to the human umpire through an earphone, and the human umpire makes the call.

Background of Introduction

The background for the introduction of the AI umpire system is the controversy surrounding wrong calls. Baseball is a sport where umpires are heavily involved in the game, requiring a certain degree of discretion. If the umpire calls it a ball, it's a ball, and if they call it a strike, it's a strike. However, because human eyes are not perfect, there has always been controversy surrounding umpire calls. As a result of a pilot program in high school baseball and the Futures League, umpires also recognized the necessity, leading to its adoption.

Advantages

So, let's take a look at the advantages of the AI umpire system.

• First, accurate judgments are possible. Because it's based on sophisticated sensors and data analysis, it can make accurate judgments. It's probably more accurate than human eyes, right?
  
  
• Second, fair judgments are possible. There have been criticisms of individual umpire judgment standards. Human judgment tends to be influenced by players or teams, or even the atmosphere. Since subjective judgment isn't involved, it's expected to reduce conflict and controversy surrounding judgments.
  
  
• Third, it can shorten the judgment time, enabling faster game progress. Faster and more accurate judgments by AI can shorten the overall game time.
  
  

Disadvantages

But there are also disadvantages, right? Let's look at what those are.

• First, a decrease in the human role. Although baseball umpires have also faced criticism for being human, I think there's a certain human element to it. The charm of the game, where the ball can change based on how the catcher frames it, might disappear. Because there's a part that only humans can judge and a unique charm to it, it's a bit regrettable.
  
  
• Second, there's a possibility of technical errors. AI isn't perfect. There's a chance of malfunctioning sensors or bugs resulting in incorrect judgments. There might also be a time lag in the process of listening to the AI's voice and announcing the call. There's a concern that this could disrupt the game's focus and tension.
  
  
• Third, there's a need for system construction and maintenance costs, along with an adaptation period. Since this is the first time the system is being introduced in the major league, it will take some time for the system to settle in, and most importantly, players need an adaptation period. It's expected that there will be some trial and error at the beginning.

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We've covered the introduction of the KBO AI umpire system. What did you think? Introducing AI umpires to the major league is a world-first, so it's both exciting and concerning. I hope that, now that it's introduced, it will be successfully applied and set a good precedent. I wonder how this change will be perceived by baseball fans. I hope the season starts soon so we can go to the ballpark! Thank you for reading today. :)