Last week we talked about Vara technological tool that has given much to talk about in football. Now, it was the turn of baseball. The Major Leagues He decided to experiment in these spring training, 60% of the games, the automated ball and strike system (ABS).
“This is a fairly important decision for baseball,” said MLB Baseball Executive Vice President, Morgan Sword, “in which we want everyone to think.”
But before commenting, as the executive asks for, we will explain how the ABS works.
Just as you can have plays to reverse an out or a “safe”, now you could do with pitching. A pitcher, batter or receiver can “challenge” the decision of the umpire when he sings like a ball or strike a launch that, for the player’s consideration, was not.
In the ABS challenges meetings played during the 2025 preseason, each team will begin with two challenges each. If the Umpire is right, the team loses the challenge, but if the sentence was wrong by the officer, the team will keep its two revisions alive.
Now, as Mr. Sword asked for, let’s share the opinion. The debate about ABS is not only technological, but philosophical. Should baseball completely embrace precision to the detriment of the human factor? While MLB continues to evaluate its implementation, it is clear that the future of arbitration is in the balance and, with it, a fundamental part of the essence of the game.
But year after year, Commissioner Rob Manfred has given greater weight to technology and changes that go against the essence of baseball.
The human factor is an essential part of sport, and more in the king of sports. Umpires not only enforce the rules, but also bring nuances to the game, such as the interpretation of the Strike area. Many consider that “imperfection” is part of baseball charm, and that eliminating it could do the coldest and mechanical sport. In addition, aspects such as Framing (the art of the receiver to present releases such as Strikes) would lose relevance if technology took total control of decisions.
