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Rejoice, MLB fans, robot umpires are almost here ... well, kind of. The league joint competition committee met Tuesday to vote on whether to bring the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) to the majors in 2026, per Joe Lemire of the Sports Business Journal.
The vote was successful, MLB announced, meaning players will be able to challenge ball and strike calls next season.
The news shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise, as MLB has been testing the system for years. The league originally used the Atlantic league and the minors to roll out the system. MLB tested an ABS rule change two different ways. The first involved using ABS to make every single ball and strike call. The second involved teams being given the ability to challenge specific calls during games. The second option was preferred among players and was considered a success in the minors.
Because of that, MLB decided to test the ABS challenge system last spring. The league also allowed players to challenge calls at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. Each team was given two challenges, which could be lost if an umpire's call was confirmed. The experiment went over extremely well. Players seemed on board with the idea and challenges were fast enough that they did not interfere with games.
MLB will run out a similar system in 2026, per Lemire. Teams will begin each game with two challenges, though will retain those challenges if successful. The league will give teams an additional challenge in extra innings if that team no longer has any challenges.
In order to bring ABS to the majors, the league needed to collectively-bargain the issue with the umpire's union. Both sides reached an agreement in 2024. One umpire sits on the league's joint competition committee — along with six team owners and four players — so all three sides were represented during Tuesday's vote.
This story will be updated.
Continue reading...
Rejoice, MLB fans, robot umpires are almost here ... well, kind of. The league joint competition committee met Tuesday to vote on whether to bring the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) to the majors in 2026, per Joe Lemire of the Sports Business Journal.
The vote was successful, MLB announced, meaning players will be able to challenge ball and strike calls next season.
The news shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise, as MLB has been testing the system for years. The league originally used the Atlantic league and the minors to roll out the system. MLB tested an ABS rule change two different ways. The first involved using ABS to make every single ball and strike call. The second involved teams being given the ability to challenge specific calls during games. The second option was preferred among players and was considered a success in the minors.
Because of that, MLB decided to test the ABS challenge system last spring. The league also allowed players to challenge calls at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. Each team was given two challenges, which could be lost if an umpire's call was confirmed. The experiment went over extremely well. Players seemed on board with the idea and challenges were fast enough that they did not interfere with games.
MLB will run out a similar system in 2026, per Lemire. Teams will begin each game with two challenges, though will retain those challenges if successful. The league will give teams an additional challenge in extra innings if that team no longer has any challenges.
In order to bring ABS to the majors, the league needed to collectively-bargain the issue with the umpire's union. Both sides reached an agreement in 2024. One umpire sits on the league's joint competition committee — along with six team owners and four players — so all three sides were represented during Tuesday's vote.
This story will be updated.
Continue reading...
