I received a link to a VERY interesting website today. Check out this article, which actually takes MLB Umpire Angel Hernandez's ball and strike calls, and compares them with the PITCHf/x system to see how accurate he really is.
Quick background on PITCHf/x (from the same website linked to above):
"In 2008, a PITCHf/x camera system was installed in every major league park and gathered data on almost every pitch thrown (around 700,000 pitches). These data are what Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) uses for its gameday feature and is accurate to about a half an inch near home plate. The findings are put online for anyone who wants to study them."
There are some links within that article to some other very good reads as well, including a study that was done to examine the effect of race of the pitcher and umpire on the percentage of strikes called (and found that the umpires were indeed slightly racially biased).
Very interesting stuff! When I have more time to read through it all, I will try to make some comments here on my blog.
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