Robot referees have been promoted and will be one step away from the big leagues this season.
Major League Baseball is expanding its automated strike zone experiment to Triple-A, the highest level in the minor leagues.
A job posting was posted on MLB’s website seeking seasonal employees to operate the automated ball-and-strike system. MLB recruits staff to operate the system for the Albuquerque Isotopes, Charlotte Knights, El Paso Chihuahuas, Las Vegas Aviators, Oklahoma City Dodgers, Reno Aces, Round Rock Express, Sacramento River Cats, Salt Lake Bees, Sugar Land Skeeters and Tacoma Rainiers.
The independent Atlantic League became the first American professional league to use a computer to call balls and shots at its All-Star game in July 2019 and experimented with ABS for the second half of that season. It was also used in the Arizona Fall League for top prospects in 2019, drawing complaints about his calls for breaking balls.
There were no minor leagues in 2020 due to the pandemic, and the Low-A Southeast League used robotic pumps in eight out of nine stadiums last season.
The Major League Baseball Umpires Association, in its employment contract that began in 2020, has agreed to cooperate and provide support if Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred decides to deploy the system at the Major League level.
“It’s hard to decide if, when or how it will be used at the major league level because it’s a pretty substantial difference from how the game is called today,” said Chris Marinak, chief operations and Strategy Officer of MLB, last March.
MLB said the robotic umpires will be deployed at some spring training stadiums in Florida, remain in Low A Southeast and could be deployed at non-MLB venues.