MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred eyeing 2026 for full-time move to automated strike zone system

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Baseball purists aren't going to love this one.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday he's aiming to test an automated strike zone at spring training next year so the system can be a full go for 2026.

"We need '25 to do the spring training test if we can get these issues resolved, which will make '26 a viable possibility," Manfred said. "Is that going to be the year? I'm not going to be flat-footed on that issue."

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Commissioner of Major League Baseball Robert D. Manfred Jr. speaks during the 2024 Grapefruit League spring training media day at George M. Steinbrenner Field Feb. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Automated strike zones were a hot topic on an episode of the now-defunct "Real Sports" on HBO in 2017, but Major League Baseball finally acted in 2019.

The automated balls and strikes (ABS) system started on an experimental basis and, beginning last year, has been used at all Triple-A ballparks.

The league toyed with two different systems — a challenge system where umps would call the game as normal while teams have a certain number of challenges and a full ABS system. Manfred said players were "almost 100%" in favor of the former.

But, he says, "when you bring something to the big leagues, you got to make sure you've got it right," and there are "technical issues surrounding the definition of the strike zone."

Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. speaks to the media during spring training Cactus League media day at the Arizona Biltmore Feb. 15, 2023, in Phoenix, Ariz. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty