AUTOMATIC BALLS AND STRIKES (ABS): REVISITING THE DEBATE

AUTOMATIC BALLS AND STRIKES (ABS): REVISITING THE DEBATE

It’s finally here. The 2026 MLB season is under way, and you’ll have something new to keep in mind as you watch your favorite team in action – the ABS challenge system.

Four-and-a-half years ago, I had expressed my view in this same space on “robot umpires”, as the automated strike zone was commonly called back then. MLB had just started testing the original version of ABS (automated balls and strikes) in the minors, which had been garnering great early reviews from players, fans, and umpires alike.

In 2021, the technology being used was the same that the PGA Tour employed to track each golf shot – the TrackMan system.

A tri-dimensional strike zone was created, adjusted to each player’s height. Home-plate umpires were equipped with an earpiece that would buzz if any part of the ball crossed any region of the rectangular box representing the strike zone. For each buzz, the ump would lift his right arm and call a strike, just like he would before “Robot Ump”.

No disruption in play, no difference aesthetically, no arguments, no frustration, no doubt. Just the right call on every single pitch, according to the strike zone as defined in the rulebook.

Here is the gist of the case I made for the implementation of ABS in my 2021 article:

“If we can reach 100% accuracy, 100% impartiality and eliminate unending and angry arguments or any confusion as to what the strike zone is or should be, what are the legitimate arguments against ‘Robot-ump’, exactly?”

I also argued that the “losing the human element of the game” counter argument from purists was ludicrous:

“We now have video replay on close plays and questionable barrier calls for homeruns or fair/fouls balls. And though there was resistance to this move when it was first proposed, it now has universal approval, and no one would want to go back. Why? Because everyone wants umpires to get it right, whether the first time or via replay. With every game on TV and every play being replayed in super slow mo, it would be folly not to use the best available technology to make the right call, right?”

As you continue reading this, you’ll notice my opinion on the matter has not wavered.

 

NEW RULE FOR 2026

In that 2021 blog, I also stated that I was convinced robot umps in MLB were an eventual fait accompli. Last September, MLB proved me right by finally announcing ABS would be part of baseball going forward in 2026.

However, the rule that will be implemented is very different from what was originally tested in the minors. Instead of going to an “every-pitch” system, ABS will be applied as part of a challenge system.

Each team will get 2 balls and strikes challenges per game that can only be immediately called for by the hitter, catcher or pitcher. The team only loses a challenge if they are wrong, so if the call is overturned the team gets to keep both challenges.

Technology has also evolved from the original TrackMan radar to the Hawk-Eye multi-camera system, now central to MLB’s automated strike zone tracking. The latter is much more precise as it is an actual capture of the ball throughout its flight, while TrackMan uses projections to estimate the trajectory.

Another key way Hawk-Eye improves upon TrackMan is by constructing a strike zone based on each individual hitter’s stance in real time, whereas the original ABS zone was static and based solely on the player’s height.

Finally, unlike TrackMan, Hawk-Eye offers a visual replay on the big board during challenges, so that umpires, players and fans all learn the verdict at the same time – and almost immediately.

 

A PARTIAL FIX

Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy ABS has finally been implemented by MLB. My frustration with countless bad calls – some in crucial moments of key games – was reaching a boiling point. The caveat being that I am also very disappointed that the powers that be opted for such a timid solution to a big problem.

I can all hear your thoughts: “But human error and bad calls have always been a part of baseball and it’s done fine. Why such a fuss?”

Whoa, wait a second. First, I don’t fuss.

Second, the game has already changed so much over the past decade – Statcast, analytics, multiple (very successful!) rule changes, and broadcast enhancements. The latter is the crux of my argument in favor of all-out ABS (i.e. letting robot umps call every single pitch).

Telecasts have offered us that visible strike-zone box for years now. Comfortably slouched on the couch, we all know instantly if the pitch was a strike or a ball – and I can’t be the only one who gets annoyed at bad calls, whether they favor the pitcher or the hitter.

Bad calls can change a game. Yes, it has always been this way, I know. “Them’s the breaks”, and all that…

But why put fans, managers, players, and umpires through all the hardship that comes with the feeling of being slighted in a key at-bat in the stretch run – or even worse, the playoffs – if technology exists that can ensure every call at the plate will be right without affecting the flow of the game?

I never understood the arguments against all-out ABS – or at least I don’t agree with the justifications given for the implementation of the ABS challenge system in its stead.

 

UMPIRE JOBS

Much like the ridiculous “human element” argument, this is an easy protest to refute. Anti-ABS pundits who argue that technology will eventually take umpires’ jobs away don’t understand each umpire’s role.

The plate ump isn’t only there to call balls and strikes. He is the steward of the game – the head umpire of sorts. He keeps track of lineups to ensure the hitting team respects the given lineup and oversees that the managers’ moves are made in accordance with the rules.

Then, there are all the plays around home plate that the masked ump must call: foul tips, pop-ups around the plate, safe and out calls on relays, check swings, fair or foul balls near the dish, interference and obstruction calls (including catcher’s interference), and covering third or first base on rotations umpires execute on balls hit to the outfield.

Since there will never be a way to automate all judgement calls on the field, there will always be a need for all four umpires in MLB.

 

PITCH FRAMING

Now we get to the nitty gritty. Like in any other business, MLB’s decision to go the way of the ABS challenge rule (as opposed to 100% ABS calls) came down to the all-mighty dollar. When you start eliminating all the traditionalists’ arguments against all-out ABS, all that remains is the players’ stern defense of “the art of framing” by catchers.

Some may not be aware that ABS was already being used by MLB for Statcast framing metrics. Specifically, MLB introduced its “Framing” stat a few years ago, measuring each catcher’s proficiency at stealing strikes for his pitcher.

Any new stat helps teams evaluate talent, of course, but it also creates new valuation for agents to use in contract negotiations. Once the genie is out of the bottle, there’s no way catchers are going to let go of this new bargaining chip.

The MLBPA lobbied hard to convince Commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners that adopting the all-out ABS would take away this skill that has always been a part of the game and that backstops work so hard to refine.

On Dan Patrick’s podcast last October, the Commish mentioned feedback from minor league players who preferred the challenge system to all-out ABS after MLB’s testing of both systems. Much to my chagrin, the outdated and irrelevant “human element” was invoked once again.

But eventually, Manfred touched on what I believe to be the true culprit: the framing issue.

“We also got input about the significance of framing catchers and individual players who have a skill set that could really be impacted by this.”

Perhaps more importantly, Manfred stated that if it were solely up to the owners, they would have implemented all-pitch ABS, and he certainly left the door open for this possibility in the future.

“We will see after the 2026 season if there’s a push to go all the way.”

With the current collective bargaining agreement expiring after this season – that’s a subject for another blog, as a lockout looms – here’s hoping that the governors register a win on their wish for the ABS rule going forward.

 

RESPECT FOR THE RULEBOOK

The integrity of any sport starts with the sanctity of its rules. The strike zone is central to the rules of baseball, a sport that is largely centered around the battle between pitcher and hitter.

That is why I was never able to grasp how so many baseball fans, players and observers could be so cavalier about the application of balls and strikes calls.

“Baseball is a sport played and umpired by humans. It should stay this way.”
“It will show up the umpires.”
“I like the controversy, the arguments, the ejections, the emotions.”
“I like the strategy involved in the challenge system.”
“Framing is an acquired skill. You can’t take that away from good catchers.”

I’ve heard it all, but nobody will ever convince me that any of these “concerns” outweigh the critical importance of getting each call right, by the book.

It may not always be possible with other judgement calls like safe/out, interference/obstruction, balks or check swings, but if this central element can be taken out of the umpire’s hands without affecting the flow of the game, it boggles the mind why anyone would be opposed to that.

Admittedly in the past, we didn’t have access to technology that could assist umpires, but witnessing countless calls get obviously botched has always been the lone source of frustration for me with our favorite pastime. Today, these missed calls are even more obvious, thanks to our amazing 4K TVs, adding to our constant raging at the screen.

A strict respect for the strike zone as defined in the rulebook would go a long way in repairing the player-umpire relationship, and our own relationship with a sense of fairness within the game.

Strikes called balls only favor bad hitters and hurt good pitchers. Balls called strikes help bad pitchers and hinder good hitters. Bad calls can only be a drag on the game.

As for framing, it only exists as a “skill” because of those bad calls throughout the history of baseball. A good umpire should not be affected by the way the ball is caught since the verdict comes before the catch, when the ball crosses home plate.

There is no legitimate justification for not wanting every single pitch called by the book.

And now, it is possible.