ROBOTIC

New MLB Labor Deal Allows Automated Plate Umpires: AP

MLB’s human umpires have reportedly agreed to cooperate and assist if the commissioner decides to use the system at the major league level.

Major League Baseball umpires have agreed to the development and testing of an automated ball-strike system as part of a new five-year labor contract, the Associated Press reports, citing two people familiar with the deal. The Major League Baseball Umpires Association also agreed to cooperate and assist if Commissioner Rob Manfred decides to use the system at the major league level, according to the AP. The Atlantic League was the first professional league to let a computer call balls and strikes at its All-Star Game on July 10. The AP reports that the game’s umpire, Brian deBrauwere, wore an earpiece connected to an iPhone in his pocket, and called the game after receiving the calls from the TrackMan computer system. MLB has discussed installing the system at the Class A Florida State League for 2020, and if the test goes well, the system could be implemented at the highest level of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the AP reports.