MLB News: ‘Robo Umps’ Will Make Their Debut in Triple-A in 2023

Electronic strike zones, aka Robo Umps, will make their first appearance in the minor leagues.

The future of baseball is approaching, and it is approaching fast. On Thursday, the MLB announced that the electronic strike zone would debut in all Triple-A ballparks in 2023 and soon the major leagues. 

Sources: All AAA parks to have robot umps in '23 https://t.co/HoATtFBYkx

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 13, 2023

Some Triple-A ballparks had "automated ball and strikes" (ABS)this past season, and now all of them will have it in 2023. However, ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney wrote that not all stadiums would use the same implementation. 

The Automatic Balls and Strikes system, commonly referred to as ABS, will be deployed in two different ways. Half of the Class AAA games will be played with all of the calls determined by an electronic strike zone, and the other half will be played with an ABS challenge system similar to that used in professional tennis. Each team will be allowed three challenges per game, with teams retaining challenges in cases when they are proved correct. MLB's intention is to use the data and feedback from both systems, over the full slate of games, to inform future choices.

MLB umpires have always been talked about negatively, and rightfully so, due to the fact that many of them have called some bogus strikes and balls. And hey, we're all humans; we make mistakes, but when you have the technology to avoid all that criticism, why not use it? 

I love baseball just as much as the next guy; the game's beauty is based on the decisions made by players and umpires. But it's clear that those decisions made by the umpires are harming the game. Pitches and the call of a ball and strike need to happen within an instant, so by no means is it easy, but the calls by many umps are inconsistent. 

One of the reasons for 'robot umps' are in efforts to make the game of baseball move faster, and I believe those efforts will be met with ABS. 

By next season, we'll see 'robot umps' pop up in major league ballparks; get used to it.