Stassi concerned Robo Umps will threaten pitch-framing era
Robo Umpires seem to be on the way to the major leagues, and Angels catcher Max Stassi isn't thrilled about it.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said this week in an interview with ESPN that his plan is for some version of the automated ball/strike system (ABS) to be in the majors in 2024.
That could render pitchframing as a worthless skill.
“As a catcher, it's going to completely change the position,” said Stassi, who is rated as one of the better pitch framers in baseball. “I don't think people realize how much it will change. Right now it's in the minor leagues. When it's in the minor leagues it doesn't change much because they're still trying to get to the major leagues, where they know they're not using (the ABS).”
Stassi said if catchers didn't need to worry about how they received the ball, they could simply position themselves on both knees to block balls, or have their bodies turned to make a quicker throw. That would all require changes to the catcher's equipment.
He also said pitch-calling would change if a catcher didn't have to worry about the way balls were presented to the umpire.
“It takes away the art of catching,” said Stassi, who is signed through 2024 with an option for 2025.
Of course, many would say that all of that is just the catcher's problem, and they'll simply have to adjust. The idea is to get the pitches called accurately.
The ABS seems to do that, according to Angels catcher Matt Thaiss. Thaiss has been catching at TripleA while the ABS has been in use for more than a month.
“I personally was skeptical about it at first, as a hitter,” Thaiss said. “I thought breaking balls at the bottom of the zone were going to clip the zone and bounce and be called strikes. I haven't seen that once. To me personally, I feel like it's been pretty tight, pretty accurate. I haven't seen really any mess-ups as a catcher.
“There are some hitters that would kind of disagree with me, but they're not back there every day just seeing all the pitches and things like that. I would say it's been pretty successful in Triple-A so far.”
Thaiss also said the calls have come quickly, which corrected an issue the ABS had when it was first tested in the Arizona Fall League or lower levels of the minors.
“I haven't seen a delay once,” Thaiss said. “As soon as I'm catching the ball, the umpire has whether it's a strike or a ball.”
It's still possible that it doesn't happen, because Manfred can't implement a rule change like this without the players' approval. It's also possible that they use a system in which the umpires still call balls and strikes normally, but the ABS is used for challenges at key moments in the game.
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