An automated strike zone’s looming, and the Rockies — like all of baseball — are split on the prospect of a robot calling pitches

What comes first- us turning on the robot umpires, or vice versa?

There’s an evolving opinion in baseball that has come to the forefront once again this month, as it has so often in recent every-pitch-matters, Statcast-tracked Septembers.

The strike zone, many in the game and the Twittersphere say, is not safe in the hands of man.

Such was the uproar after the Rockies’ 4-2 loss to open the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers this past weekend, where Colorado fans ripped the lackluster performance of home-plate umpire Andy Fletcher. The ump ended up face to face with Charlie Blackmon in the ninth inning after ringing up the center fielder on three called strikes that, according to Statcast, were all out of the zone.

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put a microphone in the ear or a buzzer in the pocket of home plate umpires that indicates when a pitch is thrown in the electronic strike zone, and the technology is close to doing so accurately. That way hitters come to the plate every game knowing exactly what a strike is and is not, so they swing at more strikes instead of chasing balls incorrectly called strikes, which will result in more contact, better contact and fewer strikeouts despite defensive shifts.