Zobrist calls for electronic strike zone after game-ending K
Chicago Cubs utility man Ben Zobrist believes it's time for a change behind the plate.
With his team trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2 with two outs and runners on the corners in the ninth inning Saturday, Zobrist struck out on a called strike 3 by umpire Mark Wegner to end the game.
Zobrist stood at the plate in disbelief following the call and argued that the pitch was low. Wegner proceeded to walk away, while the loss moved the Cubs back into a tie with the St. Louis Cardinals for the division lead.
"It's a tough one," Zobrist said, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "There's only been one other one (in 2013) I've ever had in my career that felt worse than that, especially to end the game. It's tough."
Video suggests otherwise. This is a good example of why you don't want robot umpires, bigger CBs (Kershaw, Wainwright) would be a disaster. pic.twitter.com/dMV3ElVPz0
— CJ Nitkowski (@CJNitkowski) August 13, 2017
Zobrist has long been a supporter of Major League Baseball moving to an electronic strike zone, and Saturday's experience further solidified his belief that something needs to change.
"If we want to change something like that, we're going to have an electronic strike zone because human beings are going to make mistakes," Zobrist said. "Tough situation for that to happen, but he's probably going to look at it and not be too happy with himself.
"That's something the league is going to have to look at, when you start ending games and games turn on one pitch like that. It's an unfortunate situation, and now that we have the technology, we should probably get it right."