‘So far, so good’: MLB’s automated strike zone garners mostly positive reviews at spring training

Major League Baseball is being dragged into the future, even as some players and fans kick and scream. Thirteen spring training ballparks debuted a new Automated Ball-Strike System to allow players to challenge balls and strikes.

The results have been mostly positive, though a handful of players and fans are still worried about the human element that’s lost through automation.

Unsurprisingly, most pitchers, catchers and batters love when they can prove an umpire wrong. The story shifts for those on the other end of a challenge, though.

The Automated Ball-Strike System allows the players closest to the strike zone — the pitcher, catcher and batter — to dispute a call by the home plate umpire. A simple tap of their helmet or cap starts the review process, which usually lasts less than 30 seconds.

Teams are allotted two challenges per game to maintain the pace of play, which has been an emphasis for MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Corbin Burnes became a fan of the system, which he admitted to forgetting about, on Friday.

The ace opened Friday’s game against the Colorado Rockies with a strikeout. The next at-bat had similar promise as Burnes opened a 1-2 count when he sent a fastball whizzing by the batter. The umpire called it a ball.

Catcher Gabriel Moreno gave his pitcher a knowing glance.

“He looked at me like, ‘Should I do it?’ I said, ‘Go ahead, you’re the one catching. You know the zone better than I do,’” Burnes told Sportico. “Good thing he did.”

The call was quickly changed to a strike, sending the hitter to the bench.

“I thought today [the system] was great,” Burnes said.

The New York Yankees had already seen the potential benefits of the technology. Trailing the Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 in the sixth inning on Feb. 22, the Yankees needed a rally to keep the exhibition competitive. Their hopes of a two-out rally ended when Everson Pereira watched strike three pass by home plate on a full count.

But the 23-year-old successfully challenged the call, allowing New York to string together three runs.

“The timing to challenge a close pitch was there, and obviously, he was right and convicted on it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com. “We’ll continue to gain as much experience with it as we can.’’

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto embraced the new system, acing his first two challenges in spring training last Wednesday.

“It was nice, though, just having consistent strikes and knowing what were balls and what were strikes,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I think it’s going to take a little getting used to just knowing when to challenge and when not to. But overall, so far, so good.”

Not everyone shares that opinion.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer has been vocal about his frustration with the system. His critiques became more pointed after his two failed challenges last week.

“So what are we actually changing here? We know there are going to be strikes that are changed to balls and balls that are changed to strikes,” the 40-year-old told The Athletic. “So we’re going to basically be even. So, are we actually going to improve the game? Are the umpires really that bad? I don’t think so.”

MLB officials have said that 51% of challenges were overturned in the minors last season.

Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, Scherzer’s former teammate with the Washington Nationals, poked fun at the elder statesman on Sunday.

Scherzer’s first pitch of the day, a fastball to Turner, sailed straight through the middle of the strike zone. The shortstop tapped his helmet, making good on a pregame bet with his teammates.

“I don’t think he realized that I challenged it,” Turner told MLB.com of Scherzer. “And then we were just laughing. It was good. In the regular season, it would really piss him off. But now he’s kind of faking his little act. But I knew. I just wanted to see his eyes roll. That’s what I was going for.”

The negative reactions are more pronounced among long-time MLB players. For many of them, this is their first exposure to technology that has been the subject of minor league experiments since 2019. It started in the independent Atlantic League. Last year, the so-called “robot umps” debuted in Triple-A.

The process — which sees the robotically correct call relayed to the home plate umpire in seconds — might not raise the hackles of casual fans. But for purists, the ones who can’t stand the designated hitter or the pitch clock or the “ghost runner” rule for extra innings, the new system is a nightmare.

Count Scherzer among those purists.

“Can we just play baseball?” he said last week. “We’re humans. Can we just be judged by humans? Do we really need to disrupt the game? I think humans are defined by humans.”

He isn’t alone in that sentiment. Many fans have marveled at the drama of an umpire’s punch-out “strike three” call, a maneuver that could now be nullified by a tap of the batting helmet.

Others, including Boone, are worried about the impact on catchers. Framing would-be balls as strikes helped define the careers of catchers like Jeff Mathis, Travis d’Arnaud and Brian McCann.

The automated system will be limited to spring training for now. It could be installed in MLB ballparks around the country for use in the 2026 season, league officials said.