Information AboutQuestec |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT QUESTEC | |
| baseball | |
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The company, based out of Deer Park, New York , has been mostly involved in television replay and graphics throughout its history. In 2001, however, the company signed a 5-year contract with Major League Baseball to use its "pitch tracking" technology as a means to review the performance of home plate umpires during baseball games. The UIS system consists of 4 cameras placed at strategic locations around a ballpark that feed into a computer network and records the Locations Of Pitches throughout the course of a game. Computer software then generates CDs that umpires and their higher-ups can review and learn from. These CDs include video of the pitches as well as graphic representations of their locations plus feedback on the umpires' accuracy. Controversy over the Umpire Information System surfaced over the next several years as umpires and players alike voiced concern over the system's accuracy on one side, and the partial and potentially biased coverage of major league games on the other. The company installed its cameras and computers in only 10 of the 30 stadiums around the league. Umpires filed a grievance with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to get rid of the technology; meanwhile a more hands-on approach was taken by Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Curt Schilling . Schilling used a bat to smash one of QuesTec's field cameras, an act that led to a fine for the former World Series MVP. As of 2005, the grievance was dropped by the World Umpires Association (WUA), perhaps as a show of the technology's reasonable accuracy and purpose. MLB, however, has not yet required installation to proceed beyond the original 10 stadiums although it has been discussed and promised in the future. |
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