PHOENIX — Major League Baseball, which has ventured out of its comfort zone the past few years – implementing pitch clocks, ghost runners, enlarged bases, and a universal designated hitter – now is taking the next huge step in the world of modern technology.
MLB is adopting an automated strike zone challenge system that will go into effect for the 2026 season.
MLB’s Joint Competition Committee voted to approve the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system on Tuesday, Sept. 23 after commissioner Rob Manfred passionately lobbied for the change. The players have been against the ABS, but since the committee consists of six owners, four players and an umpire, the players were unable to reject the proposal.
Just like that, gone will be the days of managers and players screaming at umpires over balls and strikes. No more legendary face-to-face confrontations. No more kicking dirt. No more dumping sunflower seeds and bubble gum on the field after being ejected.
There’ll be no reason for a player or manager to complain about a call now. If they’re upset by the video review, what are they going to do, pull out a power cord?
Oh, for the days of Earl Weaver and Lou Piniella.
The challenge system, which has been used at various levels in the minors since 2021 and all Triple-A games in 2024, was implemented for the first time in spring training games this year and at the All-Star Game. It will allow a hitter, pitcher or catcher to challenge the strike-ball call twice in a game by simply tapping their helmet. The challenge must be made immediately without any assistance from the dugout or any other player on the field. If the challenge is successful, just like instant replay, the team will retain their challenge.
“I think it’s fantastic,’ Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think the challenge system is great. We had it in spring training, and I felt that there was a strategy to it. I felt that the fans enjoyed it. And I do think because of that, it raised the level of performance from the umpires, too. And that’s a good thing.’’
For for the first time in baseball history, umpires will no longer have final say on every pitch, relying on Hawk-Eye technology, which is also used in tennis. The cameras are used to track the pitch trajectory and location in relation to the strike zone based on the height of each batter. The replay is expected to average about 17 seconds.
This also may be the first step to having robot umpires calling every pitch in the future.
In a poll of 134 players by The Athletic, 63.4% were against it while 17.1% were in favor of automated balls and strikes. Some managers, like Terry Francona of the Cincinnati Reds, refused to even permit his players to challenge, preferring to wait until it actually came into effect.
The MLB Players Association was also vehemently against the implementation of the pitch clock in 2023, as well. Yet, that has been deemed a huge success, shaving about 20 minutes off games.
‘Throughout this process we have worked on deploying the system in a way that’s acceptable to players,’ Manfred said in a statement. ‘The strong preference from players for the challenge format over using the technology to call every pitch was a key factor in determining the system we are announcing today.’
While the ABS should certainly diminish the art of pitch framing, it likely will add more jobs in teams’ analytic departments. Teams will be designing spread sheets to determine the most advantageous time in a game to make a challenge, with managers likely making determinations which batters in their lineup will be permitted to seek a challenge.
During Triple-A games during the 2024 season, there were 3.9 challenges per game, including 2.2 by the hitters. The success rate was 51% at AAA, and 52% in spring training. The challenge was used just 1.6% of the time on the first pitch of the at-bat, but increased to 3.9% for two-strike pitches, 5.2% for three-ball pitches and 8.2% on full counts.
It also came into effect much more frequently later in the game, with 1.9% of the challenges in the first three innings, 2.5% from the fourth to sixth innings, 2.8% in the seventh and eighth innings, and 3.6% in the ninth inning.
“There’s definitely going to be an analytics deep-dive in the best situations to do it,’ Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto said this spring. “It opens up a new area of the game. Can you use it only with men on? Men in scoring position? After the fifth inning? After the seventh? You don’t want to leave anything on the table.’’
Gentlemen, start your algorithms.
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