MLB Pitcher Says Potential ABS Robot-Umpire Rule Change Would 'Ruin Baseball'

Despite the general success of the ABS challenge system in spring training this year, some players within Major League Baseball aren't on board for making it a part of real games.

In a survey of 134 players conducted by The Athletic's Chad Jennings, 63.4 percent of respondents said they are not in favor of robo-umps calling balls and strikes.

One pitcher told Jennings that getting rid of the human element "would ruin baseball."

Another pitcher for a National League team explained that previous attempts to utilize it at different levels of baseball have proven ineffective:

"It has proven ineffective in Triple A and everywhere they tested it. Why would you remove the human element? The game will fundamentally change in a way that fans are definitely not going to like. It will make injuries and the competitive nature of the game worse. There would be fewer balls in play and the games take longer. All proven."

The pitcher is correct that the use of an automated strike zone in the minors didn't have the desired effect.

Baseball America's J.J. Cooper noted in June 2024 that MLB was adjusting the Triple-A system from a fully automated strike zone to the challenge system for the second half of that season in part because "the technology still does not fully replicate the strike zone as called by human umpires."

One of the issues highlighted by Cooper was the significant gap between strike and walk percentages during the 2023 season when using the fully-automated system compared to the ABS challenge system.

The called-strike percentage was 60.6 and walk rate was 12.3 percent using the fully-automated system. Those numbers shifted to 62.4 and 10.5 percent with the challenge system.

An argument can be made that a set strike zone shouldn't be flexible, but it's also not good for the sport if fewer balls are being put in play and games are taking longer to complete. One of the main driving forces behind implementing the pitch clock at the MLB level was to reduce the average game time.

There's no indication at this point that a robo-ump system is going to be implemented on a full-time basis.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred did announce last week the league intends to propose the ABS challenge system for full-time use in games starting with the 2026 season.

If the proposal is approved, both teams would receive two challenges at the start of a game they can use to contest an umpire's ruling. If the team is successful, they would retain their ability to challenge.

MLB used the ABS challenge system at 13 different parks during spring training. The result saw 52.2 percent of all challenges result in a successful overturn. Catchers who challenged calls had a 56 percent success rate, compared to 41 percent for pitchers.