Unlike other sports such as hockey, basketball and football, camera angles in baseball haven't exactly adapted to modern technology. You have the view from behind the pitch out in the centre field bleachers, the outfield cameras, cameras down each line as the main ones sports directions will use during a broadcast.
But over in Japan right now, the MLB is tinkering with a new camera angle that, by the looks of the early reception from baseball fans so far, could be a massive hit.
In Saturday's exhibition game between the Seattle Mariners and Yomiuri Giants, Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger smacked a home run. While that was dandy and all, the best part about Haniger going yard was the camera angle baseball fans got to see it through.
Introducing the umpire cam, which is similar to the old catcher's cam, but provides a better POV on how a hitter reads the ball coming out of the pitcher's hand.
It'll be interesting to see if the MLB implements this going forward, and the fact that they're experimenting with it now could be a step into that direction.
If an ump makes a questionable call, then why not watch it through their lens to try and understand their thought process. It won't be needed for every pitch, but every so often, it would be cool to see how a hitter timed a breaking ball, how much of the plate the pitch caught, or to just watch the batter freeze on a called third strike.
What are your thoughts? Would you like to see more of the ump cam? Let us know in the comments!
