Good for him. The more talented Craig Biggio went from catcher to second base to center. Maybe IKF can do the same. I don't think "pitch framing" is going to be as important in '23 as it was last year. My guess is that controlling the running game will be the skill needed in '23.
Pitch framing has been little by little less important over the past decade, as umpires are scored based on a computer. I think the real change will come in 2024 though, when some version of computer strikes or a challenge system are instituted. We had 10 umpire retirements after 2022, which means roughly 400 more plate games will be called by umpires who have worked solely in the computer judgment era.
That is a good thing. I think pitch framing too often is another way of saying "lazy umpiring".
Back when I went to the Jim Evans school, Jim himself taught the classroom portion of balls and strikes. There was a lot of stress placed on pitch quality and quality of receipt. There was some credit given to the defense for the flawlessly executed baseball pitch and catch while a receipt that looks like garbage would likely result in a ball call unless it was well within the zone. Part of it back then was optics. Without high definition TVs, the K-zone, and 10,000 replays, you probably weren't going to hear a lot about a ball that was a ball diameter off the corner that was caught well and likewise, you'd probably catch a lot of trouble for a ball that was a ball diameter inside the zone that the catcher received like a third-string little leaguer. The other argument is for the artistic side of baseball. At that time, nobody wanted to give credit for a mistake and they enjoyed a battery working as one.
I'm quite certain that the pro schools are no longer taught that way, as every pitch is judged on the pX, pY, and pZ locations. I think the viewers are more in tune with the physical location of the pitch than how the pitch was executed. Is it a good or bad thing? I'm on the fence personally but I realize the presentation of the game to viewers has changed. The players are used to it and a good majority of the umpires are too with all of the recent retirements. It will take some getting used to for fans when the automated zone comes to MLB, especially if you haven't watched much college or minor league ball. The first slider that a catcher scoops out of the opposite batter's box that caught the knee and outside corner on the way by is probably going to cause some griping about the system.
