Baseball purists aren’t going to love this one.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday he’s aiming to test an automated strike zone at spring training next year so the system can be a full go for 2026.
“We need ’25 to do the spring training test if we can get these issues resolved, which will make ’26 a viable possibility,” Manfred said. “Is that going to be the year? I’m not going to be flat-footed on that issue.”
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Commissioner of Major League Baseball Robert D. Manfred Jr. speaks during the 2024 Grapefruit League spring training media day at George M. Steinbrenner Field Feb. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Automated strike zones were a hot topic on an episode of the now-defunct “Real Sports” on HBO in 2017, but Major League Baseball finally acted in 2019.
The automated balls and strikes (ABS) system started on an experimental basis and, beginning last year, has been used at all Triple-A ballparks.
The league toyed with two different systems — a challenge system where umps would call the game as normal while teams have a certain number of challenges and a full ABS system. Manfred said players were “almost 100%” in favor of the former.
But, he says, “when you bring something to the big leagues, you got to make sure you’ve got it right,” and there are “technical issues surrounding the definition of the strike zone.”
Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. speaks to the media during spring training Cactus League media day at the Arizona Biltmore Feb. 15, 2023, in Phoenix, Ariz. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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Balls and strikes have been called by humans for nearly 150 years, and many are afraid of change. However, officiating in all sports is under increasing scrutiny.
This would be far from the first major change Manfred has made to the game. He has been at the forefront of major changes to baseball, most notably those he made ahead of the 2023 season to quicken the pace of play by adding a pitch timer, larger bases and pickoff limitations. To his credit, they have worked.
According to Baseball Reference, the average nine-inning game last year took two hours and 39 minutes to complete, more than 31 minutes faster than the all-time longest time of 3:10 in 2021. It was the first time the average nine-inning game took less than three hours to complete since 2015.
And the 2:39 duration was the fastest since 1985, when the average nine-inning contest took the same amount of time. This year, nine-inning contests last two hours and 35 minutes on average.
Only 0.4% of games took over 3½ hours, as opposed to 18.7% in 2021. And 30.5% of games in 2023 took less than 2½ hours versus 2.5% three years ago.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred smiles during the unveiling of the 2024 All-Star Game logo July 20, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
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The rule changes also led to an increase in attendance despite cries from fans that the game was changing too much. MLB drew 70.7 million fans to its stadiums in 2023, the most since 2017.
This year’s attendance numbers are on pace to finish lower than that number, but it should be noted that there is still plenty of summer left.
Manfred has said he will retire from his role after his contract expires in 2029.
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