Baseball purists aren't going to like this.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday that his goal is to test an automated strike zone in spring training next year so the system can be fully operational by 2026.
“We need 2025 to do the spring training test if we can get these issues resolved, that will make 2026 a viable possibility,” Manfred said. “Will that be the year? I'm not going to be left holding my tongue on that issue.”
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Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. speaks during the 2024 Grapefruit League Spring Training media day at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Feb. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Florida. (Photos by Mike Carlson/MLB via Getty Images)
Automated strike zones were a hot topic on an episode of HBO's now-defunct “Real Sports” in 2017, but Major League Baseball finally acted in 2019.
The automated balls and strikes system (ABS) began on an experimental basis and has been used in all Triple-A ballparks since last year.
The league tried two different systems: a challenge system where referees would rule 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 take something to the big leagues, you have to make sure you do it right,” and there are “technical issues around defining the strike zone.”
Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. speaks to the media during the Cactus League spring training media day at the Arizona Biltmore on February 15, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photos by Daniel Shirey/MLB via Getty Images)
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Humans have been umpiring balls and strikes for nearly 150 years, and many fear change. However, umpiring in all sports is under increasing scrutiny.
This wouldn't be the first big change Manfred has made in baseball. He's been at the forefront of big changes in baseball, most notably those he made before the 2023 season to speed up the pace of play by adding a pitch clock, larger bases and pickoff limitations. To his credit, they've 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 a nine-inning game lasted the same amount of time. This year, nine-inning games last two hours and 35 minutes on average.
Only 0.4% of games lasted more than 3.5 hours, compared to 18.7% in 2021. And 30.5% of games in 2023 lasted less than 2.5 hours, compared to 2.5% three years ago.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred smiles during the unveiling of the 2024 All-Star Game logo on 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 fan complaints that the game was changing too much. MLB drew 70.7 million fans to its stadiums in 2023, the most since 2017.
Attendance figures this year are on track to end up below that figure, but it's worth noting that there's still a lot of summer left.
Manfred has said he will do it to resign from office after his contract expires in 2029.
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