Like it or hate it (Paul Skenes leans towards the latter), an automated strikezone is coming to Major League Baseball, likely sooner rather than later.
This year marked the first when players could challenge balls and strikes during spring training, after years of experimentation in the minor leagues.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said he’d like it to be in the regular season by 2026, but Skenes recently said he is “happy” that it isn’t there this year.
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Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. (Benny Sieu-USA Today Sports)
“I like the human aspect of the game, because I think that there are games where the umpire’s zone is big, and there are games where the umpire’s zone is small,” the Pittsburgh Pirates ace said. “You bring in the automatic strikezone, it completely devalues framing, which effectively eliminates the catching position. I have mixed feelings towards it. I do like the human aspect of the game, but there’s definitely something to be said about being objective with the strikezone.”
This spring, teams will get two challenges per game, but they are able to retain each challenge won. Only the batter, pitcher or catcher can challenge a call, and it must be immediately after the call, with no help from the bench or other players.
Paul Skenes, #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates, delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the New York Mets at PNC Park on July 5, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Justin Berl/Getty Images)
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Skenes’ comments echo those of future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer.
“I’m a little skeptical on this. I get what we’re trying to do here, but I think major league umpires are really good,” Scherzer said last month. “They’re really good. So, what are we actually changing here? We know there are going to be strikes that are changed to balls, and balls that are changed to strikes. . . . So we’re going to basically be even. So are we actually doing to improve the game? Are the umpires really that bad? I don’t think so.”
“Can we just play baseball?” he added. “We’re humans. Can we just be judged by humans? Do we really need to disrupt the game? I think humans are defined by humans.”
It is yet another big change to the sport commissioned by Manfred, who implemented a pitch timer, larger bases and shift limits in 2023. However, fans seem to like the changes, as attendance has increased in each of the last two years.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch in his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire-USA Today Sports)
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Skenes was named the NL Rookie of the Year in 2024 and finished third in the NL Cy Young Award voting with a 1.96 ERA 11.5 K/9. A signed rookie card that included the patch he wore for his MLB debut just sold for $1.1 million, which is more than his $875,000 salary for this year.
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