MLB’s Hawk-Eye ball-tracking gets mixed reviews in spring training

For nearly 20 years now, tennis has been using Hawk-Eye ball-tracking technology and it’s been mostly well-received. By 2009, it was being used in cricket, and by 2012, it was being used in soccer.

In soccer, however, the technology, which uses high-speed cameras to capture ball’s flight path and speed, hasn’t been so well-received as it has been with tennis. The technology uses a software algorithm that uses the data it collects to predict the ball’s likely path.

While the technology has the potential to improve accuracy, it’s far from perfect. In 2020 and 2022, the Hawk-Eye firm apologized publicly to fans and professional soccer teams for some erroneous calls it made when players in the goal box obstructed the view of the camera.

Now, in 2025, Major League Baseball is trying it out for spring training, and it’s received mixed reviews as well.

MLB tries out Hawk-Eye technology

In its spring training games, MLB is using the Hawk-Eye technology to allow players to contest home plate umpire calls on balls and strikes. The system gives a replay of the pitch’s trajectory to verify the accuracy of the call. Teams are allowed two failed challenges per game, and unlimited successful challenges.

The problem with the Hawk-Eye in baseball is that it struggles with things like player’s height and stance variations, which can alter the strike zone. Critics, like Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer, argue that the technology undermines the authority of human referees, and that even the most advanced technology is based on predictions rather than precise measurements.

“We’re humans... Can we just be judged by humans?” said Scherzer after a spring training game in which he challenged and lost two calls to the robo umps.

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MLB is aiming to balance the precision of Hawk-Eye with the human element, allowing corrections for blatantly erroneous calls, without eliminating the role of the human umpire. As they test out the technology in spring training, the league is also keeping the fans in mind, allowing them to have a say in the future of this technology in officiating. If it’s successful, MLB could implement Hawk-Eye in the regular season by 2026.

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