Tim Kurkjian says MLB players are against robo umps: ‘the umpires are better than they think’

For a certain segment of baseball fans, the Automated Ball-Strike system is a long time coming. With the technology to know for certain that a pitch is being called correctly, the thinking is that Major League Baseball would be crazy not to embrace it. The league tested the “robo umps” in the minor leagues and spring training over the past few years and is expected to roll it out in MLB games as soon as next season.

Yet, players may actually be the biggest impediment. A recent survey at The Athletic showed that nearly two-thirds of MLB players were against robo umps, and during Tuesday’s Pardon the Interruption on ESPN, MLB reporter Tim Kurkjian explained why.

“The players don’t want the responsibility and the accountability of being responsible for a challenge on a ball or a strike,” Kurkjian said. “Because they worry, do I know the strike zone well enough in order to be responsible for a challenge?”

Tim Kurkjian says MLB players are reticent about robo umps because they are “not sure they are confident enough in their understanding of the strike zone” to make challenges

“The umpires are better than they think!” pic.twitter.com/wxsQazisZH

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 8, 2025

Rather than an ABS system for each pitch, the compromise solution for now is that MLB players can challenge pitches they disagree with. Both batters and pitchers can challenge calls.

In a report from The Athletic’s Jayson Stark after spring training, some players were turned off by the idea of removing the “human element” of the sport. Others expressed frustration that their own eye was not as accurate as ABS, making it hard to determine whether to challenge.

This week on PTI, Tim Kurkjian backed up that reporting based on a conversation with an MLB manager.

“In spring training, he thought the overriding point was that most players realized the umpires are better than they think,” Kurkjian explained.

“A lot of the players look at it and (they’re) not sure they are confident enough in their understanding of the strike zone to therefore be in charge of a challenge system. They want someone else to do it for them. But the manager can’t do that, and they shouldn’t have to do that.”

Fast-forwarding to the future is never as easy as it sounds. ABS is great in theory, but even players have reservations.