MLB: Robot home plate umps unlikely for 2025
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball says robot home plate umpires are unlikely for 2025.
“We still have some technical issues,” baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday at a news conference following an owners meeting. “We haven’t made as much progress in the minor leagues this year as we sort of hoped at this point. I think it’s becoming more and more likely that this will not be a go for ’25.”
MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in minor leagues since 2019. It is being used at all Triple-A parks this year for the second straight season, the robot alone for the first three games of each series and a human with a challenge system in the final three.
“There’s a growing consensus in large part based on what we’re hearing from players that the challenge form should be the form of ABS if and when we bring it to the big leagues, at least as a starting point,” Manfred said. “I think that’s a good decision.”
After instituting a pitch clock in 2023, MLB slowed innovation this year, with only small rules adjustments.
“One thing we did learn with the changes that we went through last year, taking the extra time to make sure you have it right, is definitely the best approach,” Manfred said. “I think we’re going to use that same approach here.”
Manfred said discussions have not taken place with the players association on the shape of an automated strike zone. There is little desire to call the strike zone as defined in the rule book as a cube. The ABS currently calls strikes solely based on where the ball crosses the midpoint of the plate, 8.5 inches from the front and the back.
“We have not started those conversations because we haven’t settled on what we think about it,” Manfred said.
MLB’s meetings with players revealed a preference for a challenge system in order to continue to incentivize catcher framing skills.
“Originally we thought everybody was going to be wholeheartedly in favor of the idea if you can get it right every single time, that’s a great idea,” Manfred said. “One thing we’ve learned in these meetings is the players feel there could be other effects on the game that would be negative if you use it full-blown.
“Players feel that a catcher that frames is part of the, if you’ll let me use the word, art of the game, and that if in fact framing is no longer important, the kind of players that would occupy that position might be different than they are today,” Manfred said. “You could hypothesize a world where instead of a framing catcher who’s focused on defense, the catching position becomes a more offensive player. That alters people’s careers. Those are real, legitimate concerns that we need to think all the way through before we jump off that bridge.”
UNIFORMS
John Slusher, Nike’s executive vice president of global sports marketing, spoke to owners about the company’s much-criticized new uniforms, which will be altered for 2025. MLB and Nike announced on May 3 that uniforms will have larger lettering on the back of jerseys and individual pant customization will be available to all players beginning in 2025.
“I think they appropriately took responsibility for the issues with respect to the new uniforms and the rollout of those uniforms,” Manfred said. “It’s the first time the owners had heard this directly from Nike. They had been consistent with me about taking responsibility.”
Manfred said that Nike said it will address “the letters, the noncustomized pants, the sweat through and the lack of matching of the grays.”
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Manfred said Houston; Miami; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Tokyo will be sites for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. The final will be in Miami for the second tournament in a row, after 2023.
BASEBALLS
In its efforts to develop a tackier baseball, MLB has switched to working with Rawlings, its supplier since 1977. MLB had been collaborating with Dow Chemical.
“Dow has kind of cried uncle,” Manfred said. “They spent a ton of money and worked with us. They were great partners, had a lot of good ideas, and we just were not able to come up with a ball that was playable. We’re now focusing our efforts on a tacky ball with the Rawlings people.”
REGIONAL TELEVISION STRATEGY
MLB is strategizing on a broadcast strategy to cope with the decline in cable television.
Diamond Sports, which has been in bankruptcy proceedings since March 2023, has rights to 12 MLB teams.
“If I were a betting man, I think that Diamond continues to operate and pay our teams through the ’24 season,” Manfred said.
Manfred said there are two issues: whether MLB should take control of local rights from clubs and, if that occurs, how to distribute revenue to clubs.
“For it to have any steam, the conversation about nationalization, I think it’s dependent on getting in the relatively short term some body of rights: 14, 15, 16, 17 clubs, and you’d start down the path from there,” Manfred said. “I’m not so naive as to believe two weeks from tomorrow I’m going to have all 30.”
SEASON STATS
The strikeout rate of 8.38 per team per game is down from 8.61 last year, and the .240 big league batting average is down from .248 for last season and on track to be the lowest since 1968.
“Strikeout rate was down a little bit. That’s a positive,” Manfred said. “Batting average was down a little bit. That’s not necessarily a good thing if you’re looking for action in the game. But, again, it’s a part of a season and you just don’t know whether it means anything at this point.”
AMATEUR DRAFT
Manfred said the attention given to the debuts of Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday and Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes was partly due to the decision to hold the amateur draft in conjunction with the All-Star Game starting in 2021 and broadcasting minor league games on MLB.tv.
“Over the long haul for players, in terms of developing their individual brands, it’s a real improvement,” he said.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — In his first full day as Sabres general manager, Jarmo Kekalainen pointed to Buffalo’s depth of talent for giving him every reason to believe the team can climb back into playoff contention.
For that to happen, Kekalainen on Tuesday placed an emphasis on building team character and consistency — qualities the Sabres have been criticized for lacking during their NHL-record 14-year playoff drought.
“I think character is the biggest part of talent … and that’s the talent we need to focus on,” said Kekalainen, who initially was hired by Buffalo in May to serve as a senior adviser.
“There’s been games this year where we looked like it was going to be easy, and then we lost because we got outworked. That’s unacceptable,” he added. “That’s going to be something that we’re going to focus on each and every day, because the talent, the skill alone is not going to get you wins.”
Kekalainen’s message was not so much groundbreaking or different from the four GMs who preceded him over the course of Buffalo’s drought. And they include Kevyn Adams, who was fired on Monday after five-plus seasons on the job.
Adams gets credit for rebuilding the team through a youth movement that led to Buffalo parting ways with Jack Eichel (traded to Vegas) and Sam Reinhart (Florida).
Missing during Adams’ tenure was sustained success. After topping out with 91 points in 2022-23, when they missed the playoffs by one win, the Sabres have regressed, finishing with 84 points the next season and 79 last year.
“[Fans] have every right to be frustrated,” Kekalainen said. “[But] we have some really good core pieces here. We’re close. Now we just have to take the next step.”
The 59-year-old from Finland distanced himself from Adams, who a year ago blamed high taxes and cold winters as reasons for having difficulty attracting and retaining talent.
“Winning hockey games is the most important ingredient,” Kekalainen said, drawing on the 11 years he spent as the Columbus Blue Jackets GM. “Everybody wants to play for a winner.”
Kekalainen said he has full authority in overseeing the hockey department and has owner Terry Pegula’s approval to spend to the salary cap limit.
Kekalianen’s observations, as much as his hiring, provide the Sabres a reset in a season they’ve spent yo-yoing between demoralizing skids and encouraging winning stretches.
At 14-14-4, Buffalo opened the day sitting tied for last with the Columbus in the Eastern Conference standings but only six points back of the eighth-place Boston Bruins. And after splitting a six-game road trip, Buffalo is riding its first three-game winning streak of the season.
With the exception of meeting with Kekalainen on Tuesday, players had the past two days off, and resume practice Wednesday, a day before hosting Philadelphia.
Kekalainen didn’t rule out making changes, while backing coach Lindy Ruff by saying: “Lindy’s résumé speaks for itself … And I’ve really enjoyed my time so far with Lindy.” Ruff, the team’s winningest coach, is in the second season of his second stint with Buffalo.
One change on the horizon will have Buffalo moving ahead with two rather than three goalies, though the decision on who will be the odd man out can wait, with Colten Ellis on injured reserve. Ellis, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon must first clear waivers before being demoted.
Kekalainen also placed a priority on resuming negotiations to re-sign top-line forward Alex Tuch, who is in the final year of his contract.
As for other potential changes, Kekalainen said he’s still evaluating. His promotion came after spending last week in Finland to be with his father, who died on Sunday following a lengthy illness.
“This has been quite a roller-coaster of emotions for me this weekend. So I’m just starting today,” he said.
Kekalainen is Buffalo’s 10th general manager, and first with past GM experience since Scotty Bowman held the job from 1979 to 1987. And based on Kekalainen’s track record in Columbus, he brings a no-nonsense approach and is unafraid to make bold moves.
In the summer of 2022, Kekalainen signed the late Johnny Gaudreau in free agency. In 2019, he stood pat by not trading top stars Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene and Sergei Bobrovsky to keep his roster intact for the playoffs, despite eventually losing all three in free agency that summer.
“Over the last seven months, he’s shown to me that he is capable of leading our organization into the future,” Pegula said while introducing Kekalainen. “He’s made bold moves in the past … and just has a confidence that I believe will help our organization.”
Kekalainen said the one thing he won’t do is cut corners simply to make the playoffs and end the drought.
“I told the players to forget about the 14-years thing that’s kind of hanging around like a black cloud. And I’m going to do the same thing,” he said. “I’m not going to sacrifice the ultimate goal for the sake of making the playoffs and then not having any sustainability for our goal as a team to take the next step.”
PITTSBURGH — For the first time in NHL history, goalies that were involved in the same trade faced one another within seven days of the deal.
Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner, traded for one another just five days ago, starred against their former teams as Edmonton defeated Pittsburgh 6-4 on Tuesday night.
“I thought both goalies handled themselves well,” said Connor McDavid, who scored twice and had a four-point game. “It was a unique situation and probably a strange night for both guys.”
On Friday, the Oilers dealt Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick to Pittsburgh in exchange for Jarry and forward Sam Poulin. Both goaltenders were unable to have new masks ready in time for Tuesday’s game. Jarry wore blue goalie pads and his Penguins’ mask, while Skinner had white and gold pads and his old Oilers’ mask.
“We should’ve switched masks,” Skinner said. “I feel like the mask takes the longest because you have to get a paint job. It would’ve been funny if we saw each other in warm-ups at the red line and changed helmets.”
The Penguins honored Jarry during the first television timeout on Tuesday. Fans applauded as Jarry waved his stick to the crowd, tapped his chest and held his glove in the air. The home crowd also took to their new goaltender with deep chants of “Stu” after each save early in the game.
“I saw a couple signs out there and somebody had a picture of my face,” Skinner said. “It was a great welcome. I really appreciate it from the fans.”
The two-time Western Conference champions acquired Jarry from the Penguins in the hopes of shoring up a position that has cost them during their deep playoff runs in recent years. Jarry stopped 25 shots during his Oilers’ debut against Toronto on Saturday and he made 26 saves on Tuesday. Skinner stopped 17 shots in his Penguins’ debut Tuesday, after he and Kulak spent the weekend settling the immigration process.
“It’s odd, just the whole situation of how quickly we played them after the trade happened,” said Leon Draisaitl, who finished with four assists and reached 1,000 career points. “I’m sure there are lots of people who felt odd about it.”
Skinner, a 2017 third-round pick who has the fifth-most wins in Oilers’ history, helped Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons. Pittsburgh also has a deep prospect pool in goal, led by 21-year-old Sergei Murashov, in addition to 23-year-old Joel Blomqvist and 24-year-old Arturs Silovs, the backup to Skinner on Tuesday.
The Oilers’ problems in goal have played a role in keeping McDavid and Draisaitl and company from getting over the hump and winning the Stanley Cup, particularly in the last two seasons against Florida.
“Those guys were a big part of this group the last number of years,” McDavid said. “It’s strange to see him in the other net.”
Jarry, a two-time All-Star with Pittsburgh, starred for the Edmonton Oil Kings in junior hockey. He signed a five-year contract with Pittsburgh in 2023, but struggled so badly last season that the Penguins demoted him to their minor league affiliate. The 30-year-old Jarry bounced back under first-year Penguins’ coach Dan Muse, starting the season 9-3-1 with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.
“I’m sure they’re both excited to get this out of the way,” McDavid said. “I’m happy we came in here and won the game for [Jarry]. Now, we can look ahead.”
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