Beginning this season, Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires on the field will be receiving calls through Zoom from the league’s replay center in New York. The newly introduced “Zoom Replay Operations Center” will offer umpire crew chiefs video access to review conversations which were earlier limited to audio.
Although the final decision will rest with remote umpires, umpires on the field and fans watching MLB Network and Apple TV Plus broadcasts will be able to view the video feed.
Nevertheless, questions persist about how technology is affecting both the game and fans’ experience. As technological advancements in sports continue to progress, finding the right balance between enhancing call precision and safeguarding the game’s human element will be crucial.
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Starting this season, MLB umpires will use the new “Zoom Replay Operations Center” to beam into replay reviews taking place at the league’s replay center in New York
Zoom’s adoption of its platform for MLB replays is a strategy to increase its brand exposure as it faces rising competition from Google and Microsoft with the easing of remote and hybrid work arrangements amid the waning of the pandemic.
Although the Zoom replays will not impact the final verdicts, fans may welcome the opportunity to gain an understanding of the review process in New York, particularly since they have expressed dissatisfaction with controversial calls that have been reversed in recent years.
MLB’s replay system has undergone two changes this season. Apart from the Zoom Replay Operations Center, the league has also added two new members to its replay crew to expedite the review process, which has been a source of frustration for some fans.
Although the implementation of Zoom in the MLB replay system may appear insignificant, it reflects a larger trend of technology’s growing role in sports. It remains to be seen how this evolution will impact the game and its fans.
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