Major League Baseball is gearing up to test robot umpires during spring training next year, potentially paving the way for an automated ball-strike system by 2026.
However, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred emphasized that significant technical issues need to be addressed before this system can be tested by major league players.
“We need ’25 to do the spring training test if we can get these issues resolved, which will make ’26 a viable possibility,” Manfred said. “Is that going to be the year? I’m not going to be flat-footed on that issue.”
MLB has been experimenting with an automated ball-strike system (ABS) in the minor leagues for five years, extending its use to all Triple-A ballparks in 2023.
Initially, ABS was used in half the games for every call, while the other half employed a challenge system, where the plate umpire’s calls are subject to limited reviews by teams.
As of June 25, MLB has exclusively used the challenge system based on player feedback.
“The switch to the challenge system was ‘almost 100 percent’ based on player feedback,” Manfred explained.
He noted that while the accuracy of ABS is precise to a hundredth of an inch and the technology tracking the ball’s path is flawless, it is still not fully ready for major league implementation.
“One thing we learned with the changes last year is – a little more time is better than not enough time,” Manfred said.
“I mean that just in terms of making sure – when you bring something to the big leagues, you got to make sure you’ve got it right.”
Rule changes in MLB are reviewed by an 11-member competition committee, which includes an umpire, four players, and six team representatives, giving MLB the majority of votes.
This committee approved the introduction of a pitch clock, larger bases, and restrictions on infield shifts before the 2023 season.
Players have expressed frustration that their input on new rules, such as further limits on the pitch clock for 2024, has not been fully considered.
Complicating the situation is the expiration of the umpires’ collective bargaining agreement at the end of the 2024 season, with ABS expected to be a major point of negotiation.
Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association, highlighted varied player opinions on ABS.
“There are those that have no interest in it at all; there are those that have concerns even with the challenge system as to how the strike zone itself is going to be considered, what that looks like, how consistent it is going to be, what happens in a world where Wi-Fi goes down in a ballpark or the tech acts up on any given night,” Clark said.
“We’re seeing those issues, albeit in minor league ballparks. We do not want to end up in a world where in a major league ballpark we end up with more questions than answers as to the integrity of that night’s game, or the calls associated with it.”
What are your thoughts on the whole “robo-umps” debate?
Are you for it or against it?
Assuming it happens eventually, what type of rules need to be put in place to make sure the game isn’t too reliant on robots???