US EditionRobot strike zone will create winners and losers among pitchers, batters who earned human calls
MLB's Automated Ball-Strike System uses 12 Hawk-Eye cameras for precise calls and allows two player challenges per game, improving fairness but impacting pitchers and hitters differently.
- On Wednesday, Major League Baseball launches its Automated Ball-Strike challenge system for the 2026 season, allowing teams to appeal umpire calls using precise camera technology.
- Powered by Hawk-Eye technology, the system measures pitches with millimeter-level accuracy, though MLB opted for a limited, player-initiated challenge format instead of full automation.
- Each team receives two challenges per game, with the right to appeal revoked after two unsuccessful attempts, a restriction designed to maintain game pace.
- During 2026 spring training, 53% of 1,844 challenges succeeded, yet managers remain undecided on whether to empower players or coaching staff to request appeals.
- Team executives anticipate initial strategies may shift by Day 30 or 60 as organizations collect data on how the system impacts game flow and accuracy.
39 Articles
39 Articles
Bulletin-Review
ABS will create winners, losers among pitchers, batters who earned human calls
Major League Baseball’s new Automated Ball-Strike System changes how pitches get called, and some players gain while others lose. On Wednesday night, it makes its regular-season debut.
Associated Press News
Robot strike zone will create winners and losers among pitchers, batters who earned human calls
Major League Baseball’s new Automated Ball-Strike System changes how pitches get called, and some players gain while others lose.
Major League Baseball can now call balls and strikes with 100% accuracy… but will only use the system in the most annoying way possible
The 2026 Major League Baseball season will be the first in which a computer will be used to determine balls and strikes. The strike zone has been redefined for this Automatic Ball-Strike (ABS) system, to eliminate subjectivity. However, instead of simply using this technology, which allows MLB to set the strike zone with millimeter-level precision and enforce it with absolute consistency, to call all balls and strikes, it has decided to use it o…
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