Robo-umps might be coming to MLB. Are players for or against them?

New York Times

a day ago

The robo-umps are coming, and the players have concerns.
Commissioner Rob Manfred announced last week that the automated ball-strike system (ABS) could be implemented in Major League Baseball as early as next season. Manfred is planning a proposal to employ the challenge system previously used in the minor leagues and in spring training.
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Major League players are conflicted — at best — about the potential change.
'Taking away the human element would ruin baseball,' one pitcher said.
The Athletic's anonymous MLB player poll, conducted this spring, found that 63.4 percent of players were against robo-umps calling balls and strikes. Only 17.1 percent were in favor, while 19.4 percent were unsure.
'I hate it,' one player said.
'Absolutely not,' said another.
'It has proven ineffective in Triple A and everywhere they tested it,' one National League pitcher explained. '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 then laughed.
'I haven't thought about that at all, huh?' he said.
To be clear, it's highly unlikely that robo-umps are actually coming — at least not in the way some players fear. What appears to be on its way is an ABS challenge system — as opposed to ABS calling every pitch — and that seemed a worthwhile middle ground to many players. Some who said they were against ABS in general said they were open to it as part of a challenge system.
'I think there's a fine line,' an NL position player said. 'I think the biggest thing is just trying to get those big calls. … I don't think you get to the (point) where you take the human element out of it, but if we can improve the big missed calls, I think everybody will be pleased with that.'
Improved accuracy, of course, was the resounding argument of those players in favor of ABS, and many saw it as a way to help human umpires improve as well. An automated zone would evaluate umpires in real time and offer instant feedback, giving them a chance to adjust their sights if they miss a call.
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'It feels like the behind-the-plate umpire has more incentive to make the right call or at least give the right effort,' said an NL hitter in favor of ABS. 'That feels like a good thing.'
The expected compromise was likely fueled by the deep antipathy players have for removing the human element from the game entirely. The player-umpire dynamic remains fundamental to the baseball experience — one that players believe provides an edge of sorts, or at least an ability to explore the edges. In the majors, many players argue, the ability to work with an umpire — to understand his quirks and adapt to his flaws — is an important part of playing the game. Umpires have a feel for the moment, pitchers have a feel for the umpire, and hitters have to feel some sense of uncertainty when deciding whether to swing. Mistakes might be a feature, not a bug.
'I like when you're throwing a good game and dotting it up, you might get another half inch,' one NL pitcher said. 'I like having that camaraderie, that respect between players and umpires. When that guy's having a good game and we're on the same page and everything's clicking, that's f—ing baseball. We don't need a freaking robot.'
And while the ABS system would most directly affect umpires, players expressed concern about its impact on the other person behind the plate.
'I think catchers' values are going to decrease,' one player said. 'Framing is an art. There are guys who have risen up the ranks because they know how to frame well.'
Framing — the ability to receive a pitch so that it appears to be a strike — has become a revered and measurable talent, understood as a defining skill that separates elite catchers from lesser receivers. An automated zone would eliminate its value.
'All that work I did the last 15 years, out the door,' one catcher said.
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As another catcher put it: 'That's our food, stealing strikes.'
But it's not only catchers who are concerned.
'It takes away every bit of what the catcher is trying to do,' one pitcher said. '(Their) job is to be able to receive and frame balls, and the umpires adjust to that and the hitter in the box. That's kind of the cat-and-mouse game.'
Then there's a mistrust of the technology itself. Players used to uncertainty on the edges have found a defined, computer-generated strike zone to be jarring.
'It feels like you're throwing to a different zone,' one pitcher said.
'Rehabbing last year in Triple A and I had (the ABS system),' one outfielder said. 'It was mind-blowing how small the zone is. I remember taking pitches low and away, and I figured I was down 0-1, and they called it a ball.'
Hitters become far less aggressive when they know a pitch just off the plate will be called a ball, which is why many opponents argue that ABS will slow down the game — something baseball has worked on in recent years to avoid. But some players are also worried that computers, too, can make mistakes.
'In Triple A last year, there were times you'd feel like you threw a ball right down the middle and it's a ball,' one pitcher said. 'And it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, something's off there.'
How do you argue with a robot?
'I used it years ago when I was in the Fall League,' said one hitter. 'Guys would bounce curveballs that somehow nicked the zone. It hit the plate, but it's a strike somehow?'
One pitcher had a similar experience: 'I pitched with it in a rehab game,' he said, 'and it takes the top of the zone completely away. I'd throw one belt-high and it comes up on the scoreboard as two balls above. It just doesn't feel like part of the game.'
Ultimately, the umpires are a part of the fabric of the game, just like the players themselves; most players and managers have considerable respect — admiration, even — for the work of umpires.
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'Good umpires are good umpires,' one player said.
'Most of the umpires are doing a very good job every single game,' said another. 'Those guys' jobs are incredibly hard, and 95, 96 percent of the time they're doing what they're asked to do.'
'If the umpires leave the game,' an AL starting pitcher said, 'I don't want to be a part of it.'
Technology has been a growing force in baseball for several decades, but the game's best players still appreciate and long for the human element of the sport.
'I just like old-fashioned baseball,' one pitcher said. 'Call it if it looks good.'
Work is work. It can be rewarding and even enjoyable, but it can also be maddening and tiring, whether you're a writer, a teacher, a doctor, a landscaper, a tax collector, a shoe designer or a traffic cone inventor.
And it can be that way for baseball players, too. The Athletic asked more than 130 big leaguers: What is one change you would make to improve baseball on or off the field?
The players had ideas. Boy, did they ever.
'More hockey fights!' one major leaguer suggested. 'How 'bout that? Let's fight each other!'
Now we're talking.
Here are just a few of the highlights breaking down those players' thoughts.
Most responses fell broadly into a few defined categories. One of the most popular dealt with the 162-game schedule.
'I really enjoyed the seven-inning doubleheaders (during the 2020 Covid season),' one player said. 'And I would change it so we'd have less games, more off-days.'
He paused.
'And same pay,' he added, laughing.
'I think if you could keep the 162-game season but have every Monday off like the minors,' another player suggested. 'Start the season a little earlier but have the consistency of a day off every week. I think you'd see a lot fewer soft-tissue injuries.'
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How to start the season earlier? One player suggested eliminating spring training — though, to be fair, a lot of players seem to like that idea if asked in late March — but many of those who focused on scheduling concerns seemed most interested in getting consistent breaks.
'We have talked about it as players all the time,' one said. 'Some of the older guys who haven't been in the minor leagues (since they introduced the Monday off day) don't realize how nice it is. It's not us saying, 'Oh, we want to play less.' It's like, you have that Monday off day to either feel better or get collected. Maybe it would clean up some injuries, too.'
One player suggested fewer games would keep fans interested — 'I just feel like the schedule is exhausting for people,' he said — while another suggested adjusting the schedule to play in the warmer southern cities early, saving the cooler northern cities for the summer, would keep players and fans happy. But not everyone is on board with cutting back on the number of days.
'My wife wouldn't like this,' said one player, presumably double-checking that this survey would remain anonymous, 'but I would make the season longer.'
'Hot take,' said one player. 'I think the shift was a competitive advantage for smarter teams and players. Don't penalize the teams that do it better. Bring it back!'
Rule changes were the most popular theme among players. There were suggestions ranging from eliminating catcher's interference — 'Some guys could be purposely making their swings longer to get it!' — to moving the pitcher's mound closer to home plate (you know, because 100-mph fastballs don't get there quickly enough).
One of the more hitter-friendly suggestions was to bring back the 2019 baseballs — before they were allegedly juiced — while one of the less catcher-friendly suggestions was to bring back collisions.
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'I like the old sliding into bases, knock the catcher out,' one player said. 'That's why people cared so much about hockey. We're entertainment.'
There was no shortage of suggested rule changes involving pitchers. One player talked about ending pickoff limitations, another suggested doing away with the three-batter minimum, and multiple pitchers said they should be able to step off the rubber with no one on base to call a timeout. You likely already read the player responses to the automated strike zone above — spoiler alert: they're generally against it — and at least 10 players mentioned tweaks to the pitch clock, either eliminating it or lengthening it.
'It's taken the thinking out of pitching,' one said.
When it comes to rule eliminations, one player was a 'yes' across the board: 'Remove all the rules they've added,' he said. 'We should play old-school baseball.'
Of course, it is possible to both defend the old school and embrace some new ideas.
'I like the idea of making first base wider, deeper, so you don't have those collisions at first on those bang-bang plays,' one player said. 'Other than that, it's America's pastime for a reason. They knew what they were doing when they were making it. It's perfect the way it is.'
While most players focused their suggestions on the field, others looked at baseball's place in television, traditional journalism, and social media.
'Off the field? I'd say more marketing,' one player suggested. 'Doing what the NBA did the last five years of really marketing players and better utilizing social media. I know we're trying, but my wife, who doesn't follow any sports, always sees basketball stuff come up. She's on social media all the time, and she says she feels like she sees NBA stuff all the time, but never MLB.'
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That was a relatively popular critique.
'Better marketing of younger players and for younger fans,' one player said.
'Make clips, highlights and viewing of live games much easier,' said another.
'Promoting a wider array of players more often,' added yet another. 'Rather than just the top eight guys consistently.'
That sentiment about broadening the array of players who get regular media exposure was echoed, including by one player who suggested a more concerted effort to make Spanish-speaking players more comfortable with English-speaking media.
'I've got two things,' one player said. 'One, do the (World Baseball Classic) at the All-Star break. And two, do more, like, worldwide events. More (games in) England. More, like, Spain if there are stadiums to hold it. South America. Events around the world.'
Generally, the idea of promoting baseball — in different markets, to different fans, using a wider array of players — was the most common off-the-field suggestion. One player said he'd like to see more 'Hard Knocks' style baseball documentaries.
Another said there should be more fan access in ballparks. Another said ticket prices should be slashed.
'I would just do cooler things for the fans to enjoy the game,' one player said, getting to the heart of the matter. 'Like, I feel like the NFL and NBA have cooler jerseys. We could have some cooler stuff. We're starting to do it with the City Connects, adding all the colors. And football and basketball games, they're playing music while the game's going on, maybe you could do something like that. Make it more entertaining.'
Players have long pushed in CBA negotiations for a quicker path to free agency and arbitration, but ownership naturally prefers more years of team control. It's a well-established sticking point that was mentioned a handful of times in our survey.
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'The arbitration system,' said one player with limited service time. 'I am an older player, and I'm not going to have much of a chance to earn a lot of money because the team controls me for several years. By the time I could even be a free agent, I will likely be near the end of my career. It's kind of a messed-up system to begin with.'
One player suggested teams do more to help pay for housing, especially in spring training. Another suggested larger rosters to spread the workload and perhaps limit injuries. Among the less-obvious suggestions about the player experience: allowing players to be more creative in what they wear on the field; limiting the amateur draft to college players only; and an offseason trade deadline.
'Find a way to keep teams more competitive, I guess,' one player said. 'To make games more meaningful at the end of the season when teams are out of it. You can't do minor league style where there's a first-half and second-half winner, but like, finding a way to make it more competitive all the way through.'
With an open-ended question like this, service time and the path to free agency are rarely far from the players' minds.
'Unless you're an absolute stud,' one said, 'it takes players a long time to get established, get their feet under them and start making good money. If we could shorten rookie minimum or arbitration to two years, it could be good for the game.'
The schedule. The rules. The money. The marketing. We expected these types of suggestions. We did not expect … this.
Match play, like in golf.
'Each inning is match play,' one player said, having clearly thought this through. 'We're at home and the other team goes 1-2-3 in the top of the first. Our guy hits a homer, we hit a walk-off in the bottom of the first. We win the first inning, and then it goes right to the top of the second.'
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The player — a pitcher — noted that such a setup could completely revolutionize pitching staffs, with quicker innings making it easier to use only the top arms.
'It would eliminate my job,' he said. 'But it would make it interesting!'
His wasn't the only out-of-the-box idea. One player called for expansion to 32 teams. Another requested more retractable roofs to avoid rain delays. Yet another recommended more demotions to the minor leagues — but for umpires, not players.
'You know in softball how they have the two bases at first?' one player said. 'That would be a good one.'
Sure. Maybe. It's at least more realistic than the proposal that extra innings be replaced by a two-player home run derby, or the lengthy and detailed suggestion — with a reference to Greg Maddux and an insistence that this would increase offense — that television remove the strike zone box from broadcasts (because the TV strike zone has distorted the impression of the strike zone and changed the way pitchers earn strikes on the edges … though it's possible that might actually happen anyway?).
'From what I understand, the square is not the real strike zone anyway,' the player said.
That's one way to think of changes outside of Major League Baseball itself.
Another way? Get back to the roots of the game by recommending a change in the culture of youth baseball, its demand for expensive tournaments, and its push toward early specialization.
'That system is totally broken,' one player said. 'Yeah, exposure is great to get in front of the scouts and play, but I'm a firm believer that, if you're good, they're going to find you.
'Just let kids have fun.'
Editor's note: Some player quotes included in this story have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photo: Norm Hall / Getty Images)