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Culture & Religion

Baseball Needs IT Backstop

The L.A. Times comes out swinging against baseball’s “halfhearted embrace of technology”. The Galarraga case sparks new calls for technology to double-check humans.
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In its editorial, the L.A. Times comes out swinging against a “halfhearted embrace of technology” in baseball. It says Detroit Tiger pitcher Armando Galarraga was a victim “of a game — in this case, our national pastime — that relies on humans most of the time and technology some of the time.” It says the umpire’s own forthright analysis was a testament to the game’s humanity: “I just cost that kid a perfect game.” The paper questions why the latest technology is not used “to double-check humans and get its judgment calls right.”

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