Urethane Blog

MLB Tech Update

September 15, 2025

Future Trends·Sports·Technology

Inside MLB’s 2025 Tech Revolution: Robo Umps, AI Broadcasts & the Future of Baseball

by Marcin Frąckiewicz

15 September 2025

Hawk-Eye and Statcast: MLB uses an array of Hawk-Eye high-speed cameras in all 30 ballparks to power Statcast, tracking every pitch’s speed and trajectory along with player movement and even bat swings hawkeyeinnovations.com. This optical tracking system (introduced league-wide in 2019) feeds real-time data for analytics and broadcasts, and also underpins MLB’s replay review since 2014 hawkeyeinnovations.com. It enables new metrics (e.g. exit velocity, launch angle, fielder sprint speed, and soon swing attack angles) that deepen understanding of on-field performance.
Automated Strike Zone (ABS): MLB is testing “robo-ump” technology via an Automated Ball-Strike System. In 2025 spring training, over half the games let teams challenge human ball/strike calls – with each club getting two challenges that are retained if successful reuters.com foxsports.com. When a batter, pitcher, or catcher signals a challenge, Hawk-Eye tracks the pitch and displays a 3D strike-zone replay on stadium screens in seconds reuters.com. Early results show about 51–52% of challenged calls were overturned foxsports.com. Umpires remain on the field, but this tech-driven challenge system (powered by T-Mobile’s 5G network) is a major step toward consistent strike zones, and MLB even plans to use it in the 2025 All-Star Game foxsports.com foxsports.com.
PitchCom Communication: Traditional catcher hand signals are largely gone. Since 2022, all teams have adopted PitchCom, a wireless system where catchers (and now pitchers) press a keypad to call pitches, transmitting encrypted audio to earpieces worn by the pitcher and up to four fielders mlb.com mlb.com. This speeds up the game and prevents sign-stealing (a hot-button issue since the 2017 Astros scandal) pitchcom.com. In 2023 MLB even allowed pitchers like Zack Greinke to wear the transmitter on their belt or glove, letting them call their own game to beat the new pitch clock mlb.com mlb.com. As one veteran put it, “I throw a lot of pitches and just won’t be able to throw the pitch I want…if I can’t use that [PitchCom]” mlb.com – underscoring how this tech helps both strategy and pace of play.
Wearable Player Sensors: MLB is ahead of some leagues in embracing wearables during play. It has approved at least four health and performance devices for in-game use: the Motus pitching sleeve (measures throwing biomechanics), the Zephyr Bioharness (heart rate and breathing for fatigue), Catapult GPS trackers (player workload and positioning), and the popular WHOOP strap (tracking heart rate, strain, and sleep) theupside.us theupside.us. While players can’t see this biometric data live during games, teams access it afterward to guide training and recovery. Beyond games, many clubs use sensor tech in practice – e.g. smart bat sensors (Blast Motion, Diamond Kinetics) that capture swing speed and path, and even motion-capture sleeves to monitor pitching mechanics theupside.us. In Minor League games, bat sensors are now allowed on-field to gather swing data for player development theupside.us.
Instant Replay System: MLB’s Replay Operations Center in New York, equipped with Hawk-Eye multi-angle video feeds, has handled all umpire reviews since expanded replay launched in 2014 hawkeyeinnovations.com. Managers can challenge close plays (home runs, safe/out, etc.), triggering a rapid video review. Hawk-Eye’s system provides synchronized camera angles and even 3D renderings for officials, which has improved accuracy and consistency of calls hawkeyeinnovations.com hawkeyeinnovations.com. By the mid-2020s about half of all manager challenges result in overturned calls (reflecting the system’s thoroughness), and the average review takes under 90 seconds – faster than in early years espn.com. MLB has also equipped umpires with wireless headsets to announce replay decisions to the crowd (similar to NFL) for transparency technology.mlblogs.com.
AI-Enhanced Broadcasting: MLB broadcasts are increasingly augmented by AI and advanced data. Statcast data feeds live graphics like strike-zone overlays, launch-angle trackers, and catch probability on TV broadcasts. In 2024, ESPN debuted a “Statcast AI” alternate broadcast for Sunday Night Baseball, layering real-time analytics and predictive modeling (powered by Google Cloud’s AI) over the game action espnfrontrow.com. Other networks have introduced new camera angles – for example, “UmpCam” helmet cameras and base-mounted cams debuted in the 2024 postseason to give fans POV replays sportsvideo.org. AI-driven systems also help production crews by automatically clipping highlights and even suggesting storylines from live data sportsvideo.org. While fully automated commentary isn’t mainstream in MLB yet, AI tools are assisting human broadcasters with instant stat insights and even real-time translations.
Immersive Fan Experiences (VR/AR): MLB is pushing into virtual and augmented reality for fans. In 2024, the league relaunched its MLB Virtual Ballpark, a metaverse-style 3D stadium where fans can join live watch parties with avatars mlb.com mlb.com. During these events, a 3D recreation of the game (via Gameday 3D) lets fans view any play from any angle in real time, chat via spatial audio, and even partake in virtual scavenger hunts and trivia – all accessible on web or VR headsets mlb.com mlb.com. MLB has also released VR video games like “Home Run Derby VR,” letting fans step into a virtual batter’s box and swing a controller bat in famous stadiums. Augmented reality is enhancing the ballpark too: for instance, some team apps now offer AR overlays where you can point your phone at the field to see live player stats or strike zone graphics. These immersive technologies aim to bring fans closer to the game, whether they’re at home or exploring the concourse.
Smart Stadiums and Biometric Entry: Baseball venues in 2025 are high-tech playgrounds. Digital ticketing via the MLB Ballpark app is now standard, and ballparks are integrating features like mobile concession ordering and cashless payments for speed. Several teams (Phillies, Giants, Astros, Nationals) have rolled out “Go-Ahead Entry,” a facial-recognition based gate system that lets ticket holders enter by simply walking past a camera espn.com espn.com. This opt-in system, developed with NEC Corp., links your face to your ticket account and even works with new AI security scanners – meaning fans can go from the turnstile to their seats without pulling out a phone or stopping for bag checks espn.com espn.com. “You don’t even have to break stride,” says SF Giants CTO Bill Schlough, calling the frictionless face-scan entry “an absolute game-changer” for the fan experience espn.com. However, privacy advocates worry about the creep of such biometrics – one digital rights group warns this is “just one part of a massive problem that’s only getting bigger” espn.com. Despite concerns, MLB is expanding these tech conveniences, and also experimenting with biometric payments (buying a beer with your face scan) in some venues stadiumtechreport.com stadiumtechreport.com. All 30 MLB parks now have robust 5G Wi-Fi networks to support these innovations and keep fans connected.
New & Experimental Tech: MLB isn’t stopping at what’s already on the field. The league is exploring brain-sensing wearables and neurotraining tools to boost player performance. For example, teams like the SF Giants have tried the Halo Neuroscience headband, which uses mild electrical stimulation to the brain to improve focus and motor skill learning during training theupside.us. In 2025, a startup called Pison began pilot programs with MLB clubs and colleges for a novel wristband that measures neural signals from the brain to gauge a player’s reaction time, mental fatigue, and focus sportsbusinessjournal.com sportsbusinessjournal.com. The idea is to quantify the “mental game” – a frontier previously hard to measure – and train players’ cognitive skills (e.g. pitch recognition and split-second decision-making) with personalized neural feedback drills sportsbusinessjournal.com sportsbusinessjournal.com. On another front, MLB is working with scientists on smart equipment, like new baseball prototypes. After the 2021 crackdown on pitchers’ illegal sticky substances, MLB partnered with Dow Chemical to develop a pre-tacked baseball that comes out of the wrapper with a perfect grip foxnews.com foxnews.com. In 2023, one such ball was tested in Double-A: players loved the improved grip, but in hot weather it became “too gummy,” showing the challenges of chemistry in sport foxnews.com. The research continues (with “15 PhDs working on it,” per MLB advisor CC Sabathia) to find a ball coating that can replace the centuries-old practice of rubbing mud on baseballs foxnews.com. Other experimental projects include upgraded protective gear (e.g. smarter batting helmets to reduce concussions) and even automated groundskeeping robots in training facilities. MLB’s willingness to pilot these ideas in the minors and independent leagues signals that more radical tech changes could be on the horizon.
MLB vs. Other Leagues: Compared to the NFL, NBA, and global soccer, MLB’s tech landscape in 2025 is both innovative and unique. In player tracking, all major leagues now capture data – the NFL places RFID chips in every football and in players’ shoulder pads to fuel its Next Gen Stats operations.nfl.com, and the NBA uses optical systems to map player and ball movements in second-by-second detail. Yet MLB’s Statcast stands out for the sheer volume of data (tracking every pitch and play of a 162-game season) and its public availability to fans. In officiating, soccer led the way with goal-line technology and the VAR replay system using Hawk-Eye cameras for controversial calls hawkeyeinnovations.com, and tennis has long trusted Hawk-Eye for line calls. MLB is now catching up by testing an automated strike zone, a bold step neither the NFL nor NBA have equivalently taken (football still relies on referees’ eyes and the old chain gang for first downs, while basketball refs use replay for some calls but no AI officiating). The NFL has embraced tech in other areas: since 2021 the NFL even uses Hawk-Eye in its replay center to speed up multi-angle reviews hawkeyeinnovations.com, and it leverages Amazon’s AI to generate stats like expected rushing yards from tracking data operations.nfl.com. NBA arenas are high-tech too, featuring giant HD scoreboards and AR effects; the NBA was a pioneer in virtual reality broadcasts (streaming select games in VR to Oculus headsets) and uses advanced Second Spectrum analytics to display things like real-time shot probabilities on TV. Global soccer at events like the World Cup has begun using semi-automated offside technology – multiple cameras and AI to detect offside positions instantaneously – something analogous to baseball’s automated pitch location tech hawkeyeinnovations.com. In terms of fan experience, all leagues now offer mobile ticketing, on-demand highlights, and interactive apps, but MLB’s Virtual Ballpark metaverse and weekly VR watch parties are the first of their kind among major sports mlb.com. And while facial-recognition entry is starting to appear in NFL stadiums and NBA arenas, MLB’s concerted rollout of biometric entry lanes in 2024 put it at the forefront of that trend espn.com. Each sport balances tradition and technology – as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has noted, baseball tries to “pursue the possibility of change” carefully foxsports.com. But fan sentiment is shifting: after seeing tech like ABS challenges in action, many are now more vocal in demanding high-tech accuracy over human error foxsports.com. In the grand view, MLB’s 2025 tech revolution is part of a wider sports-tech boom – yet its particular blend of preserving a 150-year-old game while infusing it with cutting-edge innovations truly sets baseball apart.