The idea of an umpire cam is a novel one in baseball, and it definitely has some merit. On the other hand, one of the potential downsides became clear during Saturday’s College World Series game between Stanford and Arkansas.
The home plate umpire had a camera mounted to the top of his mask during the game, which ESPN made use of during their telecasts. When it worked, it provided an interesting look from the umpire’s perspective during play.
Of course, it did not take long for the hazards to become apparent. Arkansas catcher Michael Turner absolutely destroyed the camera on a foul tip, sending pieces of the device flying everywhere.
Someone is probably going to have to figure out how to make those things a bit more sturdy before they get more regular use. It’s a cool idea, but you could go through a lot of those over the course of a season.
On the bright side, we’ve seen far more expensive cameras get destroyed during games. The risk is assumed at this point.
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