Latest news with #strikezone
New York Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Should MLB's automated ball-strike system have a built-in buffer zone?
ATLANTA — Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark wondered Tuesday whether the automated ball-strike system would do well to provide a little grace, a half-inch or so, so that the system isn't used to overturn calls that are wrong by a razor-thin margin. 'Does there need to be some type of buffer-zone consideration?' Clark asked. 'We haven't even started talking about the strike zone itself, how that's going to necessarily be measured.' Advertisement Commissioner Rob Manfred, however, does not wonder the same thing. 'I don't believe that technology supports the notion that you need a buffer zone,' Manfred said. 'To get into the idea that there's something that is not a strike that you're going to call a strike in a review system — I don't know why I would want to do that.' Manfred has the power to implement ABS at the major-league level for the 2026 season, and is expected to do so. The change would grant teams two challenges per game on the human umpires' ball or strike calls. The umpire would then defer to technology MLB has tested for several years in the minor leagues. The ABS system was on display Tuesday in baseball's All-Star Game, marking its first use by major leaguers outside of spring training. The All-Stars used four challenges, with three of them resulting in overturned calls — some by the kind of extremely thin margins Clark referenced before the game. Formally, the process to implement the system in the big leagues runs through an 11-person competition committee that includes league representatives, player representatives an umpire. But MLB has enough votes to push it through, a set-up players and owners agreed to during collective bargaining. Manfred has said he's going to indeed propose ABS to the committee. 'I would like to believe that at some point in time, when it's represented to the committee and in front of players, and players offer input, that it's actually listened to,' Clark said. 'I still remain hopeful that that may be the case. But our guys do have a concern with that half-inch, what that might otherwise lead to.' If teams think they can get the closest of calls overturned, they might be more likely to roll the dice on a challenge if they have one late in games. 'There's a lot of discussion that still needs to be had, despite the fact that (implementation) seems more inevitable than not,' Clark said. Advertisement Buffer zones have already been a controversial topic this year. The Athletic reported in May that MLB and the umpires' union agreed in the offseason to reduce the size of the buffer zone that's used in the league's umpire performance reviews. (LINK: ) Manfred said it's too soon to know whether he wants to further cut the number of Minor League Baseball teams carried as official affiliates. When MLB overhauled the sport's minor-league system before the 2021 season, the commissioner's office controversially reduced the number of teams from 160 to 120. The ones that remained in the umbrella also entered into a new type of business relationship with MLB, one where they operate more as franchisees. Each minor-league team is on a 10-year contract with MLB through 2030. The conclusion of this season will mark the halfway point of those contracts. However, even when the new system was put in place, some minor-league owners were fearful that the reduction of 40 teams was a starting point, and that more cuts could follow. 'We're years away from that conversation,' Manfred said. 'I just don't know how to answer that question. There is a lot going on. You know, college baseball is changing big time. I mean, so it's just impossible for me to speculate. But don't take that as 'He thinks it's going to be smaller or bigger.' I just don't know. It's 120 right now.' An added wrinkle is the unionization of minor leaguers. Their first-ever collective bargaining agreement, which runs from 2023-27, forbids MLB from contraction during the term of the CBA. But the bigger question will be what the following CBA calls for regarding contraction. Manfred has publicly said he expects to retire in 2029. If that's the case, at least some of the decision-making on minor-league licensees could fall to his successor. Advertisement Earlier this year, ESPN opted out of the final three years of its national TV deal with MLB, from 2026-28. That's left MLB trying to find a new arrangement, or multiple arrangements, on a short-term deal. Manfred said last month he was hoping he'd have something in place by Tuesday's All-Star Game, but he didn't hit that target date. Last week, however, he attended Allen & Company's Sun Valley Conference, where many media executives were also on hand. 'I had a lot of conversations that moved us significantly closer to a deal,' Manfred said. 'And I don't believe it's going to be long, but I'm not going to give you another date, since I already missed one.' The Athletic's Andrew Marchand previously reported that talks with ESPN have reopened after months of chilliness. ESPN's expiring rights include Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby and some early playoff games. (Photo of action during this week's All-Star Game: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
CNN
15-07-2025
- Sport
- CNN
MLB is putting automated balls and strikes to the test in the All Star Game. Some pitchers aren't exactly thrilled
The hottest topic in Atlanta ahead Tuesday's Major League Baseball isn't a player, a coach or a manager. It's not even human. For the first time, the midsummer classic is going to be using automated technology to allow pitchers, catchers and batters to challenge balls and strikes – a system that's been in use in the minor leagues and in spring training but had never been put in place before at a major league park. It's a technology that has the potential to revolutionize the game, a system that might forever change one of the ficklest parts of an incredibly fickle game: The ever-changing, unpredictable strike zone put in place by all-too-human home plate umpires. Pitchers are largely unfazed – at least before the game gets going. 'I don't plan on using them. I'm probably not going to use them in the future. I'm gonna let the catcher do that,' said Tarik Skubal, the Detroit Tigers star who will start the game for the American League. 'I have this thing where I think everything's a strike until the umpire calls it a ball.' Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates fireballer who will start for the National League, felt much the same way. 'Pitchers think that everything's a strike, then you go back and look at it and it's two, three balls off,' he said Monday. 'So, we should not be the ones that are challenging it. I really do like the human element of the game. I think this is one of those things that you kind of think that umpires are great until they're not, and so I could kind of care less either way, to be honest.' According to MLB, the challenge system will have the same rules as were used in spring training: Each team starts the game with two challenges and they keep their challenge if they are deemed correct. Only the pitcher, catcher and hitter can challenge a call and the system is put into place when one of those players taps the top of his cap or helmet twice. The system was in place during the Futures Game at Truist Park on Saturday between some of the game's top minor league prospect. When a player would challenge a call, the game would pause, and attention would turn to the stadium's massive screen beyond right center field. A virtual simulation of the pitch would be shown along with a strike zone and the technology would rule if the ball fell within or outside the box. Play would then resume after the short break. It's unclear exactly how the league will determine the size of those strike zones for each batter, and that's something Los Angeles Dodgers veteran Clayton Kershaw wants to know. 'I did a few rehab starts with it. I'm OK with it, you know, I think, I mean, it works,' he told reporters on Monday. 'I just don't really understand how they're doing the box for the hitter, because I think every different TV or national streaming service has their own box. I think I just hope that they figure out, because Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve should have different sized boxes, so … know they've obviously thought about that. I haven't talked to MLB about it, but as long as that gets figured out, I think it'd be fun.' The phrase used most on Monday when discussing the technology was an iconic one in baseball lore: The 'human element.' It's one of the things that can make baseball so perfectly imperfect – the ability of umpires to simply get it wrong and make a massive impact on the game. From Jim Joyce ruling a batter safe to ruin Armando Galarraga's perfect game bid to Don Dekinger's World Series-changing call in 1985, ruling Kansas City Royals player Jorge Orta was safe at first base even though replays showed he was out by a step. Instead of being the last out of a St. Louis Cardinals World Series championship, the moment became the spark for the Royals to charge back and win the title. The 'human element' is one of baseball's quirks that give the nation's pastime its identity. But it's also something that many fans would rather see cast off into obscurity. Chris Sale, the Atlanta Braves pitcher and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, said he still wants it to be part of the game. 'Honestly, for me, I kind of like the human element, right? Like I understand why they want to use ABS. And I don't think it's a perfect system yet,' he said. 'I kind of like the old feel, the old way of doing it.'
CNN
15-07-2025
- Sport
- CNN
MLB is putting automated balls and strikes to the test in the All Star Game. Some pitchers aren't exactly thrilled
The hottest topic in Atlanta ahead Tuesday's Major League Baseball isn't a player, a coach or a manager. It's not even human. For the first time, the midsummer classic is going to be using automated technology to allow pitchers, catchers and batters to challenge balls and strikes – a system that's been in use in the minor leagues and in spring training but had never been put in place before at a major league park. It's a technology that has the potential to revolutionize the game, a system that might forever change one of the ficklest parts of an incredibly fickle game: The ever-changing, unpredictable strike zone put in place by all-too-human home plate umpires. Pitchers are largely unfazed – at least before the game gets going. 'I don't plan on using them. I'm probably not going to use them in the future. I'm gonna let the catcher do that,' said Tarik Skubal, the Detroit Tigers star who will start the game for the American League. 'I have this thing where I think everything's a strike until the umpire calls it a ball.' Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates fireballer who will start for the National League, felt much the same way. 'Pitchers think that everything's a strike, then you go back and look at it and it's two, three balls off,' he said Monday. 'So, we should not be the ones that are challenging it. I really do like the human element of the game. I think this is one of those things that you kind of think that umpires are great until they're not, and so I could kind of care less either way, to be honest.' According to MLB, the challenge system will have the same rules as were used in spring training: Each team starts the game with two challenges and they keep their challenge if they are deemed correct. Only the pitcher, catcher and hitter can challenge a call and the system is put into place when one of those players taps the top of his cap or helmet twice. The system was in place during the Futures Game at Truist Park on Saturday between some of the game's top minor league prospect. When a player would challenge a call, the game would pause, and attention would turn to the stadium's massive screen beyond right center field. A virtual simulation of the pitch would be shown along with a strike zone and the technology would rule if the ball fell within or outside the box. Play would then resume after the short break. It's unclear exactly how the league will determine the size of those strike zones for each batter, and that's something Los Angeles Dodgers veteran Clayton Kershaw wants to know. 'I did a few rehab starts with it. I'm OK with it, you know, I think, I mean, it works,' he told reporters on Monday. 'I just don't really understand how they're doing the box for the hitter, because I think every different TV or national streaming service has their own box. I think I just hope that they figure out, because Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve should have different sized boxes, so … know they've obviously thought about that. I haven't talked to MLB about it, but as long as that gets figured out, I think it'd be fun.' The phrase used most on Monday when discussing the technology was an iconic one in baseball lore: The 'human element.' It's one of the things that can make baseball so perfectly imperfect – the ability of umpires to simply get it wrong and make a massive impact on the game. From Jim Joyce ruling a batter safe to ruin Armando Galarraga's perfect game bid to Don Dekinger's World Series-changing call in 1985, ruling Kansas City Royals player Jorge Orta was safe at first base even though replays showed he was out by a step. Instead of being the last out of a St. Louis Cardinals World Series championship, the moment became the spark for the Royals to charge back and win the title. The 'human element' is one of baseball's quirks that give the nation's pastime its identity. But it's also something that many fans would rather see cast off into obscurity. Chris Sale, the Atlanta Braves pitcher and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, said he still wants it to be part of the game. 'Honestly, for me, I kind of like the human element, right? Like I understand why they want to use ABS. And I don't think it's a perfect system yet,' he said. 'I kind of like the old feel, the old way of doing it.'
Globe and Mail
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Globe and Mail
Robot umpires to make All-Star Game debut as MLB looks at possible regular-season use
Tarik Skubal views the strike zone differently than robot umpires. 'I have this thing where I think everything is a strike until the umpire calls it a ball,' Detroit's AL Cy Young Award winner said ahead of his start for the American League in Tuesday night's All-Star Game. MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in the minor leagues since 2019 and will use it in an All-Star Game for the first time this summer. Each team gets two challenges and retains the challenge if it is successful. 'Pitchers think everything is a strike. Then you go back and look at it, and it's two, three balls off,' Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes, starting his second straight All-Star Game for the National League, said Monday. 'We should not be the ones that are challenging it.' MLB sets the top of the automated strike zone at 53.5% of a batter's height and the bottom at 27%, basing the decision on the midpoint of the plate, 8 1/2 inches from the front and 8 1/2 inches from the back. That contrasts with the rule book zone called by umpires, which says the zone is a cube. 'I did a few rehabs starts with it. I'm OK with it. I think it works,' said three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. 'Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve should have different sized boxes. They've obviously thought about that. As long as that gets figured out, I think it'll be fine.' Opinion: Robot umpires aren't meant to get the call right. They're all about manufacturing drama Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred anticipates the system will be considered by the sport's 11-man competition committee, which includes six management representatives. Many pitchers have gravitated to letting their catchers and managers trigger ball/strike appeals. Teams won 52.2% of their challenges during the spring training test. Batters won exactly 50% of their 596 challenges and the defense 54%, with catchers successful 56% of the time and pitchers 41%. Hall of Famer Joe Torre, an honorary AL coach, favors the system. After his managing career, he worked for MLB and helped supervised expanded video review in 2014. 'You couldn't ignore it with all the technology out there,' he said. 'You couldn't sit and make an excuse for, 'Look at what really happened' the next day.' Now 84, Torre recalled how his Yankees teams benefitted at least twice from blown calls in the postseason, including one involving the strike zone. Opinion: AI officiating gives us a grim look into our future With the 1998 World Series opener tied and the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh inning, Tino Martinez took a 2-2 pitch from San Diego's Mark Langston that appeared to be a strike but was called a ball by Richie Garcia. Martinez hit a grand slam on the next pitch for a 9-5 lead, and the Yankees went on to a four-game sweep. Asked whether he was happy there was no robot umpire then, Torre grinned and said: 'Possibly.' Then he added without a prompt: 'Well, not to mention the home run that Jeter hit.' His reference was to Derek Jeter's home run in the 1996 AL Championship Series opener, when 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall to snatch the ball above the glove over Baltimore right fielder Tony Tarasco.
Al Arabiya
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Robot umpires to make all-star game debut, another step toward possible regular-season use in 2026
Tarik Skubal views the strike zone differently than robot umpires. 'I have this thing where I think everything is a strike until the umpire calls it a ball,' Detroit's AL Cy Young Award winner said ahead of his start for the American League in Tuesday night's All-Star Game. MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in the minor leagues since 2019 and will use it in an All-Star Game for the first time this summer. Each team gets two challenges and retains the challenge if it is successful. 'Pitchers think everything is a strike. Then you go back and look at it and it's two, three balls off,' Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes, starting his second straight All-Star Game for the National League, said Monday. 'We should not be the ones that are challenging it.' MLB sets the top of the automated strike zone at 53.5 percent of a batter's height and the bottom at 27 percent, basing the decision on the midpoint of the plate, 8 1/2 inches from the front and 8 1/2 inches from the back. That contrasts with the rule book zone called by umpires, which says the zone is a cube. 'I did a few rehab starts with it. I'm OK with it. I think it works,' said three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. 'Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve should have different sized boxes. They've obviously thought about that. As long as that gets figured out, I think it'll be fine.' Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred anticipates the system will be considered by the sports' 11-man competition committee, which includes six management representatives. Many pitchers have gravitated to letting their catchers and managers trigger ball/strike appeals. Teams won 52.2 percent of their challenges during the spring training test. Batters won exactly 50 percent of their 596 challenges, and the defense 54 percent with catchers successful 56 percent of the time and pitchers 41 percent. Hall of Famer Joe Torre, an honorary AL coach, favors the system. After his managing career, he worked for MLB and helped supervised expanded video review in 2014. 'You couldn't ignore it with all the technology out there,' he said. 'You couldn't sit and make an excuse for 'Look at what really happened' the next day.' Now 84, Torre recalled how his Yankees teams benefitted at least twice from blown calls in the postseason, including one involving the strike zone. With the 1998 World Series opener tied and the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh inning, Tino Martinez took a 2-2 pitch from San Diego's Mark Langston that appeared to be a strike but was called a ball by Richie Garcia. Martinez hit a grand slam on the next pitch for a 9-5 lead, and the Yankees went on to a four-game sweep. Asked whether he was happy there was no robot umpire then, Torre grinned and said: 'Possibly.' Then he added without a prompt: 'Well, not to mention the home run that Jeter hit.' His reference was to Derek Jeter's home run in the 1996 AL Championship Series opener when 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall to snatch the ball above the glove over Baltimore right fielder Tony Tarasco.
