Triple-A takes big step into MLB with robotic umpire

Robot referees are one step closer to major league baseball.

ESPN reports that all 30 Triple-A stadiums will have electronic strike zones in the 2023 season. The move is seen as a major step towards technology that is readily available at the highest levels of the sport.

In half of this year’s Triple-A games, all calls will be decided by electronic strike zones. The other half will feature an Automatic Ball and Strike (ABS) challenge system similar to that used in professional tennis, according to ESPN.

Each team receives 3 challenges per game, and if judged correct, the team keeps their challenges.

Currently, MLB doesn’t have a specific date for using the ABS system at Biggs, but it’s gradually being used at the minors.

Electronic strike zones were first used in the 2019 Atlantic League All-Star Game. It was also used in the Arizona Fall League that same year. It will be used in some of his Low-A parks in 2021, and full ABS was used in some Triple-A games last season.

The Low-A Southeast League adopted a challenge system in which the umpire still called balls and strikes, but batters, pitchers and catchers could dispute the call.

Feedback on the challenge system was positive, according to ESPN, with some believing it to be a good first step for the technology, but hardly anyone was happy about the potential changes. There was not.

“If you have problems with balls and strikes, just get players who can call balls and strikes better,” Aaron Judge said in July. I think it’s part of the game, the human element.”

Although not implemented at the major league level next season, there are technical and other changes such as pitch clocks, defensive shift limits, larger bases, and number limits. The number of times a pitcher may attempt a pickoff. All of these are aimed at increasing the pace of the sport.