A recent ESPN profile of Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB), has illuminated the direction professional baseball will be heading this decade. The primary alteration on his list is increasing the pace of the sport through a set of rule changes that would ultimately generate more action, and thus (the league hopes) draw more fans. One of these changes would be the implementation of “robo-umpires,” for the 2024 season.
While the decision is not yet a foregone conclusion, in the profile, Manfred notes that an automated ball-strike zone system would “likely be introduced.” Still, given that “robo-umpires” were integrated into the MLB’s AAA system (highest level of the minor leagues) at the beginning of this current season, it suggests strike-zone automation is coming sooner rather than later.
