Mookie Betts Tells OutKick 360 He Supports 'Human Element’ In Baseball

There’s no brighter star in the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball universe than Mookie Betts.

Betts has accomplished virtually everything you can imagine in MLB, both at the individual and team level.

He won the MVP award in 2018 with Boston, won the World Series that season and then again in 2020. He’s won six Gold Glove awards and five Silver Sluggers.

His 2018 season was one of the best in recent history, as he led the league in batting average and had a remarkable 10.7 WAR.

Understandably given his success, his opinion carries a significant amount of weight around the sport.

Betts joined OutKick 360 on Tuesday, and was asked his thoughts on replacing MLB umpires with an automated strike zone.

Far from a ringing endorsement of the move, he said it was something he could get used to, but wasn’t preferable.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 01: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers runs to first bas in the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium on May 01, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Betts Wants to Keep Umpires Involved

His position on letting umpires continue to call balls and strikes seems to be popular among current players.

Despite the impact on games, many seem to prefer having a human being involved. Betts seemed to imply that hitters can even use the fluctuating zones to their advantage.

Whether or not that’s true is debatable, but if players believe it is, his preference is understandable.

For fans though, watching umpires miss obvious calls throughout games is infuriating.

Players may be able to have conversations with umpires, but with the advent of on screen zones, the mistakes are more frustrating than ever.

Commissioner Rob Manfred seems hell bent on implementing an automated zone, potentially to help speed up games.

Limiting time consuming disagreements and fixing frequent umpire issues from repeat offenders like Angel Hernandez is hard to argue with.

But if Manfred does bring it to MLB soon, it seems he won’t have a fan with Mookie Betts.