Robot Umpires Debut At MLB All-Star Game

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Robot Umpires Debut At MLB All-Star Game/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Robot umpires will call balls and strikes for the first time in MLB All-Star Game history, a major test for potential regular-season use by 2026. Players remain divided over the system’s impact on the game’s tradition and fairness. Commissioner Rob Manfred sees technology as inevitable amid baseball’s push for precision.

Robot Umpires Quick Looks

Robot umpires debut at 2025 MLB All-Star Game
Automated system tested in minor leagues since 2019
Players get two challenges, retain successful ones
Strike zone measured as percentages of batter’s height
Debate continues among players and coaches on fairness
Commissioner Rob Manfred considers 2026 regular-season adoption
Hall of Famer Joe Torre supports technological evolution
Robot umps reduce blown calls but stir tradition vs. tech debate

Deep Look

Robot Umpires Make Historic Debut at MLB All-Star Game, Paving Way for Possible 2026 Season Use

ATLANTA (AP) — In a milestone for baseball’s evolution, robot umpires will call balls and strikes for the first time during Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star Game. It’s a significant trial that could open the door for widespread adoption in the major leagues as soon as 2026, fundamentally reshaping how America’s pastime is played—and judged.

Since 2019, Major League Baseball has been testing its Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) in the minor leagues, gradually refining the technology in pursuit of greater precision. The All-Star showcase marks the ABS’s most high-profile appearance yet, signaling MLB’s seriousness about bringing robots into the heart of the sport.

Players Have Mixed Feelings

Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who is starting for the American League, admits he sees the strike zone through a decidedly pitcher-friendly lens.

“I have this thing where I think everything is a strike until the umpire calls it a ball,” Skubal said with a grin. “Pitchers think everything is a strike.”

Pittsburgh Pirates’ young star Paul Skenes, starting his second consecutive All-Star Game for the National League, echoed Skubal’s sentiment.

“Then you go back and look at it, and it’s two, three balls off,” Skenes noted. “We should not be the ones that are challenging it.”

Under the All-Star Game rules, each team will receive two challenges for disputed calls. If a challenge is successful, the team retains it. This structure aims to balance technological precision with the flow of the game.

How Robot Umpires Define the Strike Zone

Unlike the traditional strike zone, which umpires visualize as a three-dimensional cube hovering over the plate, the automated system defines the zone in percentages relative to a batter’s height: 53.5% at the top and 27% at the bottom. The system makes its judgment at the plate’s midpoint, precisely 8½ inches from both front and back edges.

This approach seeks to ensure that the towering Aaron Judge and the diminutive Jose Altuve, for example, don’t share an identical strike zone.

“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. “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.”

Manfred and MLB Eye Future Adoption

Commissioner Rob Manfred has signaled that MLB’s 11-man competition committee—made up of six management representatives—is likely to consider the system for regular-season use by 2026.

Many pitchers have already grown accustomed to delegating challenges to their catchers or managers. Data from spring training revealed that batters won exactly 50% of their 596 challenges, while the defense succeeded 54% of the time. Catchers were successful in 56% of their challenges, compared to pitchers’ 41% win rate.

Joe Torre Backs Tech-Driven Accuracy

Hall of Famer Joe Torre, an honorary American League coach for the All-Star Game, has emerged as a vocal supporter of robot umpires. Torre, who helped oversee MLB’s expansion of video review in 2014, believes technology is simply unavoidable in modern sports.

“You couldn’t ignore it with all the technology out there,” Torre said. “You couldn’t sit and make an excuse for, ‘Look at what really happened’ the next day.”

Torre, now 84, admits that some blown calls once favored his Yankees during crucial playoff moments. He recalled the 1998 World Series opener when Tino Martinez hit a grand slam immediately after a borderline pitch from San Diego’s Mark Langston was called a ball instead of a strike.

“With the bases loaded and two outs, that was a big break,” Torre said, smiling. “Possibly I’m glad there was no robot umpire then.”

He even referenced Derek Jeter’s famous 1996 ALCS home run, aided by 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier, as another moment that might have played out differently with technological oversight.

Tradition vs. Technology Debate Rages On

The push for robotic umpires taps into baseball’s perpetual tug-of-war between tradition and modernization. Purists argue that the human element—including the imperfections and personalities of umpires—is an essential part of the sport’s character. Advocates of ABS counter that eliminating blown calls is a matter of fairness and integrity.

Torre summed it up succinctly: “As long as we’re getting it right, that’s what matters.”

Fans and players alike will be watching closely as robot umpires take center stage during the Midsummer Classic. Whether this is merely a novelty or the beginning of a new era for Major League Baseball remains to be seen.