One of the most contentious conversations had around the world of baseball is whether or not the MLB should be using robot umpires to call balls and strikes. There’s two separate camps with heels equally dug in. On one side, you have the baseball truthers who rebuke the idea of ever having someone (or something) making decisions about the beautiful game of baseball other than a veteran umpire who has seen many, many years of duty. They cannot fathom the thought of a robot making decisions on balls and strikes, its almost blasphemous to even recommend such a thing. In the other dugout, you have those who are sick and tired of human-error coming into play and having an irreversible impact on some of the games biggest moments.
Years ago, the MLB shook the ground when they instituted instant replay into the game. It was a decision that many rejoiced in, though it left a small few with clinched fists screaming at the clouds. Has MLB replay worked? For the most part, yes. It has it’s setbacks, they don’t always get it right. The rules of replay are pretty straight forward, but may not always seem right. In a nutshell, there must be conclusive video evidence to overturn the call made on the field. However, this still brings the human-aspect into these decisions while excusing common sense. The replays are viewed by a crew in New York, so even then there is still the possibility that they could get it wrong. Essentially, replay was implemented to avoid situations like we saw back in 2010 when Armando Galarraga was stripped of his perfect game bid because of a blown call by first base umpire, Jim Joyce. Galarraga made it through 26 batters with 26 outs before a bang-bang play at first base on the final ground ball was botched by Joyce who called the runner safe. Upon further review, the broadcast’s replay showed that the runner was clearly out, and Galarraga was robbed of his spot in MLB history. But now, replay has turned into almost a side-show. Teams challenging plays that could be viewed by one party as one way but viewed differently by another. Believe it or not, baseball has a lot of instances where there really is no “right” call.
But the robotic strike-zone takes the human element completely out of the game. No replay crews in New York, no crew conversations between umpires, just a robot with a pre-determined strike zone making the call. No, it’s not a real robot like the show Lost in Space that stands behind the plate and blinks a green light for strike and a red light for a ball. We won’t lose the human umpire behind the plate. But much like that floating strike zone you see on broadcasts that shows where the ball crosses the plate, the robotic umpire takes each pitch into consideration and can calculate it as a ball or a strike almost to perfection. And with the ABS system, batters that believe the umpire missed the call on the pitch can turn and challenge that call in an instant.
This has already been implemented as a test-run in the minor leagues, and it has worked. In the minors, batters have the opportunity to challenge a strike call right at the plate, the umpire turns around, and they show the robot’s call on the big screen at the game. It takes all of 15 seconds, and it works. So why not move that up to the majors? Isn’t the goal to get it right? Well, it seems that’s where we are headed. Just this week alone, the umpire scorecards (yes, umpires get scored on their performance) revealed that MLB umpires across the league missed over 1,000 balls and strikes calls. That’s just in one week! It is almost absurd that it has taken the MLB this long to step in and do the right thing. MLB umpires are a proud bunch, and they really don’t like to be challenged. So it is not surprising that there has been pushback from them when it comes to robot umps being used at this level. Their fear is that if we start with balls and strikes, where does it stop? Will human-umpiring be fully eradicated by 2040? But it is time for the MLB to do something. The MLB is a multi-billion dollar brand and while it makes for great television to see a player or coach getting into a heated argument with a home plate umpire over a bad strike call, it’s not good for the brand.
It seems as if we will see what has been used in the minors make it’s way to the majors in 2026, and while I consider myself a baseball purist who despises the pitch clock and loves long, drawn-out games, I think this is long overdue. There is nothing about missing calls that benefits the game. I agree, turning and challenging a strike call can slow down the game, but we begrudgingly accepted that fate with instant replay, why wouldn’t we do it with this, too?
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