Baseball is back and this time, with new technology. This spring, Cactus League ballparks are becoming a test site for robo umpires.
Spring training Major League Baseball teams will have a chance to test a new automated strike zone as part of a new challenge system.
The system operates using multiple cameras to track a player’s stance to determine the strike zone.
Human umpires will still be making the original call on balls and strikes. But teams will now be allowed to challenge those calls, with an automated system using multiple cameras making the final determination.
Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher shared details about the new addition to spring training on Wednesday.
“We’re excited to sort of serve as laboratory for possible rule changes where they can experiment with this technology," Binsbacher said.
Binsbacher says the system could bring one of the biggest structural changes to the league in a long time.
“I think it’s safe to say that we’ll probably see it during the regular season. This for spring training is going to be used in about 60 percent of the spring training games," Binsbacher said.
If effective, the system can be used in the regular season by 2026.
“That's part of a challenge system and major league baseball has had a chance to test that already in the minor league and during fall league, but we will have it at five cactus league ballparks," Binsbacher said.
Binsbacher says they have high expectations for attendance. Despite 10 canceled games last spring, attendance rose for the third straight season.
Last year, the league averaged 7,548 people per game. The season attendance averaged out to 1.6 million people total.
With the implementation of the new robo umpire and additional factors such as the Ohtani factor, officials are expecting an even higher number of attendance this season.
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