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Major League Baseball is making strides toward potentially improving the accuracy of called strikes and balls.
Per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB plans to test the automated ball-strike system in spring training next season, potentially implementing the system in the regular season by 2026.
“I would be interested in having it in ’26,” Manfred said.
Drellich noted the system would not be implemented into every spring training ballpark, but every team would get the chance to play with it.
MLB has used an automated strike zone in the minors since 2019, though there are two types of systems. One system is used by umpires on every pitch while the other system gives teams two or three challenges per game. According to Drellich, MLB plans to give teams two challenges during spring training games. Teams retain their challenges if they are successful, meaning more than two challenges could lengthen games.
Manfred said he’ll take both team and player perspectives into account when implementing the system.
“I think we will have a spring training ABS test that will provide a meaningful opportunity for all major-league players to see what the challenge system will look like,” Manfred said, per Drellich. “From my perspective, there’s two sides to that test: It’s what clubs think about it, and also, what do the players think about it? And we’re gonna have to sort through both of those.”
One thing that could be a hurdle for Manfred and the MLB is that he will have to collectively bargain a new contract with major league umpires when their contract expires after the 2025 season. The automatic strike zone will be part of the negotiation, according to Drellich, and Manfred said MLB would have to “have to work through that issue as well.”
