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This year, two versions of an Automatic Balls and Strikes system (ABS), otherwise known as "robot umpires" or "robo umps," will be used in all 30 Triple-A ballparks, according to a report from ESPN. If this expanded experiment is deemed successful, the next stop could be its use at the major-league level.
Half of the Triple-A games will be played with all the calls determined by an electronic strike zone (with each team receiving three challenges), and the other half will be played with an ABS challenge system.
The ABS has continued to expand over the years, and 2023 will be its most widespread use yet.
In 2019, the independent Atlantic League used the electronic strike zone in an all-star game, and that same year, the Arizona Fall League played with the ABS. In 2021, some Class A parks used ABS. Last season, the full ABS was used for some Class AAA games, including some games in the Pacific Coast League and all International League games played in Charlotte. The St. Paul Saints did not play in any games using the ABS in 2022, but that will change in 2023. The Saints acknowledged the change by posting a link to the ESPN report on its Twitter account.
MLB tried out the ABS challenge system last year at the Low-A Southeast level during designated “Challenge Games.” During these games, human umpires still made balls and strike calls, but the pitcher, catcher, and batter could appeal the umpire’s call to the ABS. Each team received three appeals in Challenge Games, with successful appeals retained for future use. ESPN reports that this challenge system seemed to create an entire new “layer of in-game strategy” with managers “guiding players on the best manner to use the challenges -- avoiding frivolous challenges and protecting the team from egregious ball-strike call mistakes in pivotal moments.”
The expanded ABS comes at a time when MLB is making a host of sweeping changes to make the game safer and stimulate offense. On September 9, 2022, MLB's Joint Competition Committee, which evaluates and ratifies proposed rule changes, officially approved a pitch clock, shift ban, and larger bases for use in the majors beginning in 2023. All of these changes were tested out in Triple-A in 2022. However, a formal rule change proposal related to the robot umpires was not made to the committee at the time, so there will be no use of the ABS in the majors in 2023. Though MLB robo umps are not a sure thing yet, if these changes are any indication, robo umps might not be too far away.
My Take
I am looking forward to seeing which form of ABS MLB uses at CHS Field, and if the change is even noticeable to fans (an article by the Athletic featured a player quote stating that it appeared the umpire in an ABS game was relaying the calls as quickly as if he were making them himself). I am a bit of a baseball purist, so I gravitate more toward the ABS challenge system, which, to me, seems to be the best of both worlds: umpires will still be used to call balls and strikes, but we can challenge, review, and possibly overturn questionable and egregious calls, just like in the NFL, NBA, and NHL. I am ok with there being some variation in strike zone from umpire to umpire, within reason. I think completely eliminating umpires calling balls and strikes is unnecessary and takes away one of the human elements that makes baseball unique, but we can and should use the technology we have at our disposal to make it more accurate.
It is evident MLB needs to keep up with the times and do something to eliminate egregious, high-profile missed ball and strike calls, some of which can have substantial impacts on game outcomes, even in the postseason. Baseball is America's favorite pastime, but complaining about bad calls is a close second- just look at the myriad of Youtube video compilations of missed ball and strike calls. With both systems of ABS, these calls would likely be eliminated
The need for change is also evidenced by the continued growth of @UmpScorecards. Umpire Scorecards is a popular Twitter account that provides an accuracy percentage, consistency percentage, and a list of the top 3 most impactful calls for every umpire after every MLB game. After umpire performances that users consider to be poor, they flood the replies imploring MLB to bring on the robots.
My gut feeling is that some type of ABS will be introduced at the major league level sometime soon: the Triple-A, as we have seen, is the last stop on the bus for rule changes, a final testing ground, before arriving at MLB. If ABS gets positive reviews this year, like that of Kris Bryant, who played using ABS while on a Rockies minor league rehab assignment last year, I have no doubt MLB will be next.
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