---
title: "Baseball Coach Ejected for Fighting With Robot Umpire"
description: "Just one inning into the \"robot umpire\" Trackman's major league debut, a human coach decided to pick a fight and got ejected from the game."
date: "2019-07-19"
modified: "2019-07-19"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/baseball-coach-ejected-fighting-robot-umpire"
categories:
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "automation"
  - "robots"
  - "sports"
  - "the digest"
---

# Baseball Coach Ejected for Fighting With Robot Umpire

![Just one inning into the "robot umpire" Trackman's major league debut, a human coach decided to pick a fight and got ejected from the game.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/baseball-coach-ejected-fighting-robot-umpire.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Pixabay/Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## You're Out!

In the war of man versus machine, it was a heroic Atlantic League baseball coach who dealt the first blow.

Frank Viola, pitching coach for the High Point Rockers, got himself kicked out of a game at York, Pennsylvania after just one inning after he took issue with the automated strike zone dictated by the so-called robot umpire, [according to ](<https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/atlantic-league-coach-ejected-for-arguing-over-automated-strike-zone-just-one-inning-into-robot-umpire-era/>)[*CBS Sports*](<https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/atlantic-league-coach-ejected-for-arguing-over-automated-strike-zone-just-one-inning-into-robot-umpire-era/>)**.** Viola took issue with a call made by the system, [dubbed Trackman](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-umpires-professional-baseball-debut>), in the very first game that the system was deployed — suggesting that humans aren't quite ready to give up authority to robot overlords.

## Who's In Charge?

After the game, [Viola tweeted](<https://twitter.com/FrankViola16/status/1149868717574111237>) his side of the story, in which he seems to argue that it was unclear whether it was Trackman or the human umpires who made a call.

"Who or what was in charge?? Major problem. Let each team know at all times what's going on…" he tweeted.

https://twitter.com/FrankViola16/status/1149868717574111237

## Choosing Sides

In a [video of the incident](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwW4WpDMfnA>), a team of human umpires decide to side with the robots and prevent Viola from reaching the plate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwW4WpDMfnA

Maybe the fracas marks an early casualty as robotic systems are granted greater control over human society. Or perhaps this was just an irate coach who wanted a call to go his way.

**READ MORE:** [Atlantic League coach ejected for arguing over automated strike zone just one inning into robot umpire era](<https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/atlantic-league-coach-ejected-for-arguing-over-automated-strike-zone-just-one-inning-into-robot-umpire-era/>) \[*CBS Sports*\]

**More on automation:** *[Robot Umpire Makes Professional Baseball Debut](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-umpires-professional-baseball-debut>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)