Baseball fans will have to wait too long for an exciting Rob Manfred rule change

Rob Manfred is forever in a precarious position. As the commissioner of our nation's pastime, he cannot win. Any change he makes didn't happen quickly enough, and also has the potential to ruin traditions. In this case, however, MLB needs to get with the times.

Manfred has long discussed using ABS – which essentially serves as an automated strike zone – in the major leagues. MLB has tested this system in the minors and in its sister leagues, and for the most part it has gone well. While the rule change is quickly making its way to the major leagues, Manfred wouldn't commit to a specific implementation date in his appearance on the 'Dan Patrick Show' this week.

"I think you will see some version of the automated strike zone in the big leagues in the next four years," Manfred said. "The technology piece of it is so robust. Literally, the path of the pitches is tracked good to 1/100th of an inch. It's hard to ignore that technology."

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Rob Manfred gives a deadline to implement an automated strike zone, and it's not that soon

Manfred and MLB will likely wait until the start of a new CBA to fully implement such a complex rule change. ABS will alter baseball forever, and perhaps even put some umpires out of jobs. Don't get me wrong, there will always be a place for in-person oversight of the sport, but an electronic strike zone rids the game of the human element, which is a welcomed change. Manfred and MLB have also discussed how they will use ABS, and what managers and players should expect once it's applied.

"We have decided that we're going to test the challenge version. There's two versions of ABS (automated ball-strike system). One where every pitch gets called in the umpire's ear, and the other that's a challenge system. We're going to test the challenge system in spring training with major-league players," Manfred continued.

ABS, like all new rules, will be a work in progress. Odds are MLB will have to tweak it some, and fans will grow frustrated with it. However, when the league figures out exactly how to make such a system work, the game will be better of for it.