MLB Approves Robot Umps In 2026 For Challenges

MLB has approved the use of robot umpires in the 2026 season. According to ESPN, the system will give teams two challenges per game for balls and strikes where hitters, pitchers, and catchers can request reviews. From the report: Hitters, pitchers and catchers will be the only ones allowed to trigger the system by tapping their head, and if a challenge is successful -- the pitch will be shown on in-stadium videoboards -- teams will retain it. While the vote in favor of the automated ball-strike challenge system was not unanimous -- some of the four players on the 11-man committee voted no, according to sources -- the vote was a fait accompli, with MLB owners all in favor and in possession of a six-seat majority on the committee.

The ABS system uses similar technology to the line-calling system in tennis, with 12 cameras in each ballpark tracking the ball with a margin of error around one-sixth of an inch. The ABS zone will be a two-dimensional plane in the middle of the plate that spans its full width (17 inches). The zone's top will be 53.5% of a player's height and the bottom 27%. Teams that run out of challenges over the first nine innings will be granted an extra challenge in the 10th inning, while those that still have unused challenges will simply carry them into extras. If a team runs out of challenges in the 10th, it will automatically receive another in the 11th -- a rule that extends for any extra inning.

During the league's spring training test this season, teams combined to average around four challenges per game and succeeded 52.2% of the time, according to the league. Catchers, whose value in framing pitches outside the zone to look like strikes could take a hit due to the new rule, were the most successful at a 56% overturn rate, while hitters were correct 50% of the time and pitchers 41%. MLB's minor league testing, which started in 2021, led to Triple-A players in 2023 using ABS challenge three days a week and a full ABS system, with every pitch adjudicated by computer, the other three.

So make sure you use your challenges

[Tony Isaac]

Teams that run out of challenges over the first nine innings will be granted an extra challenge in the 10th inning, while those that still have unused challenges will simply carry them into extras

So teams that don't use their challenges, are penalized compared to teams that do use them. Of course, the other side of that coin is, if they use their two challenges too soon, they might wish they hadn't.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

You frame competition through the language of penalty scarcity and regret which primes everyone listening to think in terms of punishment and retaliation rather than cooperation when you describe it as a penalty for failure to act you cast inaction not as a choice but as a weakness and when you talk about the other side of the coin being regret you load the system with emotional volatility that makes simple strategy feel like a matter of survival you are building a narrative where the only safe path is aggr

Re:

[Paradise Pete]

So teams that don't use their challenges, are penalized compared to teams that do use them. Of course, the other side of that coin is, if they use their two challenges too soon, they might wish they hadn't.

Some questionable calls are more important than others. Some would be so important that even a small chance of success would make it worth challenging. Others would need to be nearly certain to succeed to make it a good decision. There's a lot of luck involved in which situations occur.

Re:

[CycleMan]

Challenges here are a lot like time-outs in other sports. There's strategy in when you use them or lose them. That shouldn't be surprising. More than 90% of games don't go into extra innings. And if this new rule leads to a disparity that makes the game not fun, expect another rule change.

Teams that run out of challenges over the first nine innings will be granted an extra challenge in the 10th inning, while those that still have unused challenges will simply carry them into extras

So teams that don't use their challenges, are penalized compared to teams that do use them. Of course, the other side of that coin is, if they use their two challenges too soon, they might wish they hadn't.

Re: So make sure you use your challenges

[dpille]

if this new rule leads to a disparity that makes the game not fun

That horse has absolutely left the barn already. But I, too, trust MLB owners to busy themselves repainting that barn should any need arise.

Robot Umps

[fahrbot-bot]

Which will be called "Rumps" in 3... 2... 1... :-)

Deciding when to correct a human

[FictionPimp]

I love the idea that they could score the game correctly, but it's more fun to make a human guess if another human is scoring the game incorrectly and challeng it.

So it's not about accurate scoring, it's about strategy on challenging inaccurate scores or taking one for the team.

Re: Deciding when to correct a human

[iabervon]

I think it's even more interesting, in that one or two humans have to decide whether to question a call, and they have to identify calls that were wrong, not just ones they want to overturn, and they don't have a great angle to figure out what the algorithm would do. I think it's going to be fun to see batters try to do the ump's job, while standing to the side and considering swinging at the pitch.

Inspirational chant

[dsgrntlxmply]

"kill -9 the umpire"

MLB should stop placating the umpires union

[schwit1]

MLB should have zero-tolerance for umpiring errors. To that end they should use roboump for every pitch.

Human umpires add zero value to a ball game. If they get every call correct they have not made the game better. So all they can do is make a game worse with their mistakes.

MLB needs to remove the flawed humans from these decisions as much as possible.

Re:

[larryjoe]

MLB should have zero-tolerance for umpiring errors. To that end they should use roboump for every pitch.

Human umpires add zero value to a ball game. If they get every call correct they have not made the game better. So all they can do is make a game worse with their mistakes.

MLB needs to remove the flawed humans from these decisions as much as possible.

Perhaps baseball will do what tennis did in terms of initially testing out computer calls before eventually replacing all the linespeople.

This is maybe an acknowledgement for the TV viewing audience who have been able to see the broadcaster computer calls for balls and strikes for many years. So, it was easy to see if an umpire was way off in his call.

The computers should be far better in calling pitches off the plate. The one area where they might struggle is in determining whether a pitch was too high o

Re:

[king*jojo]

This is maybe an acknowledgement for the TV viewing audience who have been able to see the broadcaster computer calls for balls and strikes for many years. So, it was easy to see if an umpire was way off in his call.

They actually don't. When they first starting putting the rectangle graphic on broadcasts, then announcers constantly reminded the audience it was just to give them a general idea of the strike zone, and wasn't an absolute (even as recent as this season, it's just a box from the broadcast truck, and if the annoucers really want to analyze the call, they will show an over-the-plate camera, and utilize slow motion. There's no computer)

The problem is, people began to get real tired of the announcers giving

Re: MLB should stop placating the umpires union

[dpille]

I respect your demand for Platonic, ideal baseball.

Human players add zero value to a ball game. If they make every play or hit every ball over the wall they have not made the game better. So all they can do is make a game worse with their mistakes

Re:

[flink]

Having the coach come out and kick dirt at the ump is part of the game. It's like taking fighting out of hockey.

But

[Nicholas Grayhame]

> Hitters, pitchers and catchers will be the only ones allowed to trigger the system by tapping their head,

What happens if a player scratches his head?

Speaking of baseball

[Nicholas Grayhame]

On September 3 the Detroit Tigers were 11 games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians. Tonight, September 23, they are tied.

Stay away from gambling folks.

Re:

[sconeu]

The Tigers are on track to outdo the 1995 Angels choke.

To what end???

[0xG]

This will
- reduce costs by eliminating the scores of overpaid umpires? I think not
- increase viewership? Well, broadcasters pretty much do this stuff already
- increase attendance? I cant imagine people saying 'let's go see the new robot umps'

How pointless

Horse of a different color

[kackle]

I don't have much of a horse in this race/game, but in regards to only using a height measurement, don't humans have differently sized legs and torsos? And doesn't each batter bend differently while at the plate?

Why not just use it?

[izzo nizzo]

I have been anticipating this, and hoping that we could skip over the "challenge" era and just proceed directly to a fully robotic zone.

With so few challenges, whereas umps typically mess up about a dozen pitches per game, this still leaves a lot of distraction and time for argument. And, virtually any time a player argues, he is instantly thrown out of the game. The umps have all become extremely impatient with this, no matter the tenor of the conversation.

More importantly, the pitches that are the

The fuck

[Tatsh]

None of us are into sports. This is not news.

Re:

[lark046]

One can actually be a nerd and sports fan at the same time.