Robo Umps Debut In MLB Games, And It's Not Great
Somehow, Major League Baseball games are already back. Spring training is underway, with Thursday marking the first games of the 2025 season.
The schedule led off with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs playing in Glendale, presenting the first opportunity for fans to see the defending World Series Champions on the field, the revamped jerseys that once again feature legible, larger names on the back, and MLB's spring test of the automated balls and strikes system.
That's right, robo umps are here, in Major League games.
And it's…kinda not great?
It didn't take long for the first challenge under the new system, with Cubs pitcher Cody Poteet asking for a review of a pitch to Max Muncy that was called a ball. The call was overturned, with the new "Hawkeye" display clearly showing that the ball crossed within the definition of the strike zone.
So it functioned as intended, but boy oh boy did it take forever.
Kyle Schwarber (12) of the Philadelphia Phillies argues with home plate umpire Angel Hernandez after being called out on strikes during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park on April 24, 2022, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Brewers defeated the Phillies 1-0. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
ABS Challenge System Could Work, But Can't Be This Slow
Correcting this obviously bad call is what the system is designed to do. That's all well and good. But baseball's pace-of-play enhancements have clearly worked, making the game feel faster and more action-packed.
Taking 45+ seconds for a challenged call massively disrupts the flow of the "new" game.
Seeing the Hawkeye display is a nice addition, similar to how tennis uses it in their challenges. And maybe this delay is growing paints, working out the kinks with the first implementation of the challenge system. But if this is the length of each challenge, it's going to be immensely frustrating to watch.
Thankfully, teams are limited to just two challenges, initiated by the pitcher, catcher or batter. Though overruled calls will lead to teams getting an additional challenge to use. It could work, it just has to be a lot faster than 45+ seconds. A lot faster.