A Robot Umpire?

A pitcher sends a baseball whizzing past the batter straight into the catcher’s mitt. The umpire standing behind home plate must quickly decide whether the pitch was a ball or a strike. No matter what the ump says, players, coaches, and fans will likely argue over whether it was the right call. It’s a tradition as old as the game itself. But a new high-tech system may make this type of debate a thing of the past.

For the past two years, minor league teams have been testing the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS), nicknamed “Robo Ump.” It uses cameras to track each pitch and determine whether it’s a ball or a strike within milliseconds—faster than a human umpire can yell “STRIKE!”

Umpires are extremely accurate, but it’s impossible to get every call right—particularly when MLB pitchers can throw at more than 161 kilometers (100 miles) per hour. Sometimes, an ump’s honest mistake can cost a team a win—or even a championship. “Every pitch matters,” says Stuart Cheshire, a Technical Project Manager who’s working on ABS for Major League Baseball (MLB). “Making the right call is fundamental to the game, and we have to get it right.”

ABS technology isn’t brand-new. MLB already uses Hawk-Eye—a high-speed camera system that measures action on the field, like the speed of a pitch or hit. The league just needed to adapt Hawk-Eye to determine whether a pitch traveled through a batter’s strike zone—the area over home plate that a ball must pass through to be called a strike.

Experiments using the Robo Ump in the minor leagues have been a success, and it could come to MLB soon. “The ABS system brings more accuracy, integrity, and objectivity to the game,” says Rick White, President of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. And because umpires can worry less about arguments breaking out over the call, “it has made their lives a lot easier,” he adds.

A pitcher hurls a baseball past the batter. It shoots straight into the catcher’s mitt. Was the pitch a ball or a strike? The umpire behind home plate must quickly decide. No matter what the ump says, some will think the call wasn’t right. Players, coaches, and fans will likely argue over it. It’s a tradition as old as the game itself. But a new high-tech system may end this type of debate.

For two years, minor league teams have been testing the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS). It’s nicknamed “Robo Ump.” The system uses cameras to track each pitch and tell whether it’s a ball or a strike. It works within milliseconds. That’s faster than a human umpire can yell “STRIKE!”

Umpires are extremely accurate, but they can’t get every call right. That’s hard to do when Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers can throw at more than 161 kilometers (100 miles) per hour. Sometimes, an ump makes an honest mistake. But that can cost a team a win—or even a championship. “Every pitch matters,” says Stuart Cheshire, a Technical Project Manager who’s working on ABS for (MLB). “Making the right call is fundamental to the game, and we have to get it right.”

ABS technology isn’t brand-new. MLB already uses a high-speed camera system called Hawk-Eye. It measures action on the field, like the speed of a pitch or hit. The league just needed to adapt Hawk-Eye so it could tell whether a pitch traveled through a batter’s strike zone. A ball must pass through this area over home plate to be called a strike.

Experiments with the Robo Ump have been a success in the minor leagues. It could come to MLB soon. “The ABS system brings more accuracy, integrity, and objectivity to the game,” says Rick White, President of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Umpires can worry less about arguments breaking out over the call. Because of that, “it has made their lives a lot easier,” he adds.

The strike zone extends from a player’s knees to their chest in their hitting stance. Several of these measurements are taken and then averaged for each player. This calculation is then loaded into ABS. After a pitch is thrown, the system compares the position of the ball with the batter’s customized strike zone.

The strike zone extends from a player’s knees to their chest in their hitting stance. Several of these measurements are taken and then averaged for each player. This calculation is then loaded into ABS. After a pitch is thrown, the system compares the position of the ball with the batter’s customized strike zone.

A system of 12 high-speed cameras, called Hawk-Eye, captures movement of the ball on the field. Hawk-Eye accurately tracks a baseball within a few millimeters.

A system of 12 high-speed cameras, called Hawk-Eye, captures movement of the ball on the field. Hawk-Eye accurately tracks a baseball within a few millimeters.

ABS automatically sends its call to an earpiece worn by a human umpire behind home plate. Umpires receive the call in less than half a second—faster than most could make the call themselves—so the action on field is never delayed. The umpire then announces the call.

ABS automatically sends its call to an earpiece worn by a human umpire behind home plate. Umpires receive the call in less than half a second—faster than most could make the call themselves—so the action on field is never delayed. The umpire then announces the call.

It’s still important to have human umpires behind home plate. That’s because ABS cannot determine certain situations. For instance, a ball could hit the ground in front of home plate. If the ball were to bounce up into the strike zone, ABS might tell the umpire it’s a strike when it isn’t. In instances like these, umpires can overrule ABS.

It’s still important to have human umpires behind home plate. That’s because ABS cannot determine certain situations. For instance, a ball could hit the ground in front of home plate. If the ball were to bounce up into the strike zone, ABS might tell the umpire it’s a strike when it isn’t. In instances like these, umpires can overrule ABS.