Did you order your Google Glass yesterday? Google was selling its $1,500 high-tech specs to anyone in the US but the deal was good for just one day. If you missed it, you are out of luck for the time being.
This one day sale of Google Glass got me to thinking. What if someone invented an app for Google Glass for major league baseball players. The possibilities of how this could help ball players seem endless. With historical information at their finger tips players in the field could position themselves to allow them the best opportunity to get the batter out. Pitchers could immediately “see” a video of their last pitch and see statistics on how to get the batter out based on the situation, position of his fielders and batter tendencies depending on the ball/strike count. But the batter wearing the Google Glass could learn pitcher/catcher tendencies, he could tell what type of pitch was coming as soon as it left the pitchers hand, the speed of the pitch and the proposed trajectory of the pitch. Maybe it could even tell him if the pitch was going to be a ball or a strike? Holy crap, where is this leading to? Will games be delayed because as peck of dirt is blocking the Google Glass camera or if a battery powering the device calls it a day? The umpires can use Google Glass too, instant replays will be at their disposal right on the spot without having to stop the game for an instant replay. The home plate umpire has a ball/strike assist device to help him make the proper call on each pitch.
The fans benefit too, the fans in the stands can queue up replays and see close-up action of any play or pitch they want when they want it. If a game gets out of hand like some Twins games do now and then fans at Target field can pretend to watch the game but really be watching the Yankees and Red Sox going at it in Fenway Park or they can relive the Twins glory days and watch game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
It seems like the possibilities of Google Glass are endless and is MLB ready for what Google Glass can do? Is there a rule on the books to prevent devices like Google Glass from becoming part of baseball? Players wear glasses to help their vision, is Google Glass any different?
I have also wondered about prosthetic devices and the technological advances they are making there. What if a player comes on the market one day and says that he can throw a baseball at 150 MPH and has a curve that will make your eyes bug out. All because he lost his arm in a farming accident and now his new prosthetic arm has opened up a whole new career for him. Can you pitch in the major leagues with a prosthetic arm?
With all the arm injuries to pitchers should humans pitch at all? Are we going down a track that before long a mechanical device will be placed on the mound and a pitching coach or manager will sit in the dugout and decide with his clicker what pitch should be thrown and at what speed? Are pitchers going to become obsolete and the big money will be paid to engineers who can make the best mechanical pitching device? I can hear it now, “now coming in to pitch for the Minnesota Twins is Google pitching device Mach 7.643 model B.” Yikes!
What’s wrong with me and why am I thinking such crazy thoughts? What a can of worms, it makes my head spin and gives me a headache. I think I will just go back to watching the Twins and Bluejays play tonight in the cold, rain and snow. Then again as I look out the window it is snowing harder than it has all day, there might not even be a game tonight. Maybe I should have ordered that Google Glass yesterday so that I could entertain myself when there is no baseball game to watch.
UPDATE – Looks like no game today (Wednesday), the Twins and Blue Jays game has already been postpond and rescheduled as a day/night double-header on Thursday.