Robot refereeing and introduction of Peach Clockwork.
Starting from the 2024 season, robots will make strike and ball decisions in the KBO League. It is an automatic ball determination system (ABS).
A robot’s decision does not mean that the referee has nothing to do. You have to declare a decision that you can hear through your earphones, and you have to pay attention to other situations at other moments. It got busier because you had to check the pitch clock time for each situation. That’s why KBO is conducting the first round of refereeing winter training at the Icheon Bears Park in Gyeonggi Province from the 4th to the 8th. It is for adaptation.
It is still somewhat unfamiliar to the referee. Obviously, when a robot referee call does not ring on a ball that looks like a strike, referees are buzzing. A curve ball that falls on the ground makes a strike call. It means that he passed the zone. “If I were the center fielder, I would never be able to judge a strike even if I die. If I do that, it would be crazy,” a referee said.
When the introduction of robot referees came out, the referee’s authority came out. Strike and ball judgment is the most important task of the referee’s mission. It also leads to the pride of work. You can feel like you have become a “scarcher.” In addition, if the robot referee takes its place, there was no choice but to say that the referees’ jobs could eventually disappear.
First of all, I asked a veteran referee who had experienced all sorts of hardships. “In the end, the issue of fairness was raised and this decision was made,” veteran referee A said. “Now that the system has been introduced, we have no choice but to hope it works out well.” When asked about the reaction of fellow and junior referees to the introduction of robot referees, he said, “Some people like it, some people don’t like it.” I think the introduction of robot referees could give a bit of a bitter feeling to veteran referees who have worked for decades.
The young referee’s response was a little different. “I am thinking positively about introducing a robot referee. My colleagues around me also said, ‘Let’s give it a try,’” said judge B. “The hardest thing as a referee is complaints from both teams and criticism from fans. When I think that things like this disappear, I feel really comfortable. I think I can work more comfortably.”
“I think that the stress of judges will be relieved to a great extent. Not many judges live past the age of 60. If a player plays one game, he or she feels like his or her heart is shrinking four to five times. He or she can do nothing one day before he or she plays as a referee. There are many juniors who still go to psychiatry and quit being a referee because they are mentally too tired,” Judge Heo Woon said. “There is talk of authority, and authority is not important, but something that we want to live for. I just hope that the introduction of robot judges works well.”안전놀이터 추천
A KBO official said, “When we first talked about the introduction of robot referees, we were worried about the referees’ reaction. However, they said they wanted the referees to change quickly. The stress they were under was beyond imagination. It is also a factor that allowed the system to change faster.”