For over a century, baseball has thrived on its traditions. But technology is coming for the strike zone now; however, it’s not without pains. Major League Baseball is rolling out a major change for the first time in spring training—Automated Ball Strike System, aka the “robo ump.” After years of testing in the minor leagues, MLB is inching close to fully automating one of the most debated parts of the game—calling balls and strikes.

However, with this change also comes major headaches and hurdles that could change how people view baseball over TV. First, the very much fan-loved K-Zone, the strike zone that has been the staple for baseball fans since 2001, might not survive its new form. Second, MLB is worried that ABS can also open the door to a new form of cheating in the game. Let’s figure.

Is MLB bidding goodbye to K-Zone?

Everyone who has watched baseball is aware of that floating strike zone box over the home plate. It shows whether a pitch is a ball or strike, and it was first introduced by ESPN back in 2001. And since then, every network has followed suit. But now MLB is worried that its existence takes the drama out of the ABS challenge system. So what is this system?

Now with ABS, the teams get two challenges per game, allowing the pitchers, catchers, and batters to contest a ball strike call in real-time. But if fans watching at home already see the correct call thanks to trusty K-zone, the suspense of it all just evaporates. MLB’s VP of Baseball Operations Morgan Sword mentioned to The Athletic, “You take a lot of the drama and excitement out of it if the fan can see up front that that pitch was a strike. It sort of obviates the need for the challenge.”

To address this, MLB is thinking of reducing the K-Zone presence or maybe removing it completely. One option is maybe to keep the box but hide the pitch location. This way the fans will be forced to rely on the umpire’s call. Another way is to show the pitch but remove the strike zone box. And lastly, the option would be to soften the edges of the box, making it a little less defined. But this isn’t the only challenge that MLB would face.

MLB’s ABS era brings a cheating concern

MLB’s second major issue is – Cheating!

Unlike other video reviews in baseball, ABS challenges must be completed immediately without help from teammates or even a replay screen. Players have just a handful of seconds to challenge. And umpires can even reject challenges if they think that the players got some outside help. They did so in minor league already. The problem here is that stadium screens display the live TV broadcast on it. And you guessed it—it has the K-Zone plastered on it.

If fans, coaches, or team members shout out the call, it could influence the player’s decision. That’s a major issue that MLB wants to close down before they decide ABS to become a standard practice in the games.

Morgan Sword also mentioned, “There are monitors, big-screen televisions all over our ballparks that display the feed of the game. And it wouldn’t be that hard if this box was up there for fans or anybody to yell to the players, right? That’s not what we want, either.”

To avoid this, MLB is working with the broadcasters to see how K-Zone is displayed and how it can be modified. However, this is a big shift for baseball fans because it could mean a whole different TV viewing experience. K-Zone has helped casual viewers understand the strike zone for years. So removing or altering it could frustrate some. But on the other hand, the challenge system can even add another layer of fun.

MLB has experimented in minor leagues with it, and they are continuing to figure out how to best implement the ABS. The first big league spring training game with the system will be between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. It’s a sneak peek into what baseball’s future looks like.

Do you think that baseball viewing is going to change with this system in play? Let us know!