Sports is, in many ways, about the imperfect pursuit of human perfection. All athletes want to shoot 100% off the basketball free throw line and complete all the football passes or hit 1.000 in baseball, but failure is inevitable.
But now, one major sports league is taking a dramatic step that can limit flaws from the game. And that’s not imperfection from people on the field wearing colorful jerseys named on the back they’re trying to fix. It’s a human error from the people who host the game.
Spring training guided me around Major League Baseball this week, but it wasn’t the same old game with the same old rules.
This year, only Spring Training exhibit games – For now, MLB uses a system fan called “Robo-umps.”
An automated ball strike system, or ABS, has been in use in minor leagues of baseball for several years. Pitchers, catchers and batters can challenge the ball and strike control by the home plate referee of the game.
It must be used immediately after the referee has made a decision on the pitch and can only be used by the three players mentioned above. Even managers don’t demand challenges.
On Saturday, February 22, 2025, replays will be displayed from the automatic ball strike system after plays were challenged in four innings of a spring training baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Each team has two challenges to use per game. Catch: The team will only lose their challenge if the original ruling of the referee is upheld. So, hypothetical, teams can use infinite challenges if they are not wrong.
In other sports such as basketball and football, the challenge system has faced criticism for removing momentum from the game with a long official review. There is no problem with ABS.
According to MLB, the addition of the challenge added on average just 17 seconds into the game in minor league experiments. When the pitch is challenged, all eyes go to the stadium scoreboard. There, an automated system shows exactly where the ball is in relation to a pre-determined strike zone.
This technology is similar to the “Hawkeye” system used in tennis. In that sport, players can challenge whether the ball remains within the line of play. The Hawk-Eye is extremely accurate and takes just a few seconds.
For the first time in the long and celebratory history of “American entertainment,” Strike Zone is not an imaginary square seen through the eyes of a judge. Now it’s concrete and authentic.
There is hope for fans who are still skeptical of this idea. This technology is contracted to be used only for training this spring. However, reports suggest that ABS could be the mainstay of regular and postseason MLB plays starting in 2026.
Nevertheless, it’s probably something the player has to get used to. Los Angeles Dodgers’ Max Muncy was the first player to fall victim to technology as Chicago Cubs pitcher Cody Pott challenged the pitch and overturned the ball he called into a strike.
Muncie hit that bat.
“When that ball crossed, I thought it was a strike right away. [home-plate umpire Tony Randazzo] I balled it,” Muncy said according to MLB.com. I look there [Poteet’s] He smacked his head and I went, “Well, I’ll be the first one.”
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