In about two years, robots could be introduced to the world of Major League Baseball, according to recent comments by Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to ESPN (NYSE: DIS). Robots could potentially be quicker and more efficient than people in terms of calling balls and strikes.
This new system, referred to as the "Automated Ball-Strike System," contains artificial intelligence that calls pitches and strikes, as well as calls to the umpire. Though this type of system is not necessarily a new idea, since it has been featured in minor league baseball systems throughout the past few years, the Automated Ball-Strike System could potentially have even newer features that make baseball a much more efficient game.
According to various sources, such as The Verge, robots have thus far significantly impacted the American baseball game. Typically, the robot system tends to call more strikes than live people would. In turn, people have had to redetermine the exact nature of a pitch and what it entails. In other words, just because baseball games are run by artificial intelligence does not mean that key factors of the game do not still need to be verified.
Generally speaking, individuals such as Manfred have iterated that robot umpires have not necessarily fully replaced live human empires, but rather, have sought to strengthen the effectiveness of baseball games as a whole. For the most part, human empires usually take around one minute and 37 seconds to go over video replays. But with the help of robotic technology, Major League Baseball data has demonstrated that it has helped to cut back on game times by around nine minutes.
"We have an automated strike zone system that works," Manfred told ESPN.
While the usage of robots began in Minor League Baseball, they are now starting to become more prevalent in Triple-A games. Overall, robots will not be the final answer, nor will they replace human umpires fully. But they will still be helpful when it comes to quickening the pace of baseball games as a whole.