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Fans who have been clamoring for MLB to implement robot umpires will have to wait a lot longer than initially anticipated.
Per ESPN, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that robot umpires are unlikely to be introduced for the 2025 season because “there has not been as much progress in the minor leagues this year as MLB had hoped for.”
However, Manfred provided some details on how an automated ball-strike system could work at the major league level, saying that it would likely be a challenge system.
“There’s a growing consensus in large part based on what we’re hearing from players that the challenge form should be the form of ABS, if and when we bring it to the big leagues, at least as a starting point,” Manfred said, per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, who added that Manfred has held this opinion for quite some time.
MLB has been testing out the ABS system in the minor leagues dating back to 2019. During the 2023 season, Triple-A used the system for half its games and human umpires for the other half.
The proposed ABS challenge system would rely on human umpires to make ball-strike decisions while giving teams the chance to challenge specific pitches. When the challenge is called, the automated system is brought in to make a ruling.
Dom @BronxBmbrz
I still don’t understand why MLB isn’t implementing this in the major leagues this season pic.twitter.com/1CTNObnFMu
The challenge system could be a viable compromise for those who are against a fully automated method of calling balls and strikes. If MLB eventually adopts the system, it could help facilitate the eventual implementation of robot umpires in the future.
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