Tested during the 2025 Spring Training season in MLB, the automated balls and strikes challenge system will officially be part of all Spring Training, regular season, and postseason starting in 2026. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
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Get ready for “robo-umps” in Major League Baseball.
Today, MLB’s Joint Competition Committee voted to adopt the Automated Ball Strike (ABS) Challenge System for the 2026 season. The ABS system will be used in Spring Training, the regular season, and postseason games starting next year. The system has been tested in the minor leagues, as well as in the 2025 Spring Training games.
The Competition Committee – comprised of six owners, four active players and one active umpire – was created as part of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiated between MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA).
The system uses 12 “Hawk-Eye” cameras around the ballparks that capture the location of all pitches. Should the pitcher, catcher, or batter wish to challenge a call by the umpire, they will tap their helmet or cap. Looking at the system, should the ball touch any part of the strike zone, it would be called a strike. Umpires will announce the challenge to the ballpark, and a graphic showing where the ball passes in relation to the strike zone would be displayed on the scoreboard and broadcasts. The league has said that the entire process takes approximately 15 seconds, and with it, the pace of play is minimally impacted by the system.
Each team starts with two challenges per game. Any successful challenges allows for the challenge to be retained for further use throughout the game.
The previous rule changes that have been adopted by the Joint Competition Committee have had staying power and created momentum for the game,” said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. “We used the same process with ABS that started with listening to fans, conducting extensive testing at the minor league level, and trying at every step to make the game better. Throughout this process we have worked on deploying the system in a way that’s acceptable to players. 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. I commend the Joint Competition Committee for striking the right balance of preserving the integral role of the umpire in the game with the ability to correct a missed call in a high-leverage situation, all while preserving the pace and rhythm of the game. I thank the Major League Umpires for their collaboration and the Major League Players for their feedback in moving the game forward for the fans.”
“From its inception, the Joint Competition Committee’s constructive conversations between players, umpires and owners have produced rules that significantly improved the game for fans,” added John Stanton, Chairman of the Competition Committee and Chairman of the Seattle Mariners. “The ABS Challenge System is another big step forward for the game. ABS Challenge strikes the right balance of putting a tool in the players’ hands to correct a missed call in a high leverage spot while retaining the human element of the game and adding a new fan-friendly engagement moment. I want to thank the Commissioner’s Office, the Players Association, and the Major League Umpires for their dedication to the greatest game ever invented.”
As to what the actual ABS Challenge System strike zone is, it is two-dimensional rectangle that is set in the middle of home plate with the edges of the zone set to the width of home plate (17 inches) and the top and bottom adjusted based on each individual player’s height (53.5% of the batter’s height at the top and 27% at the bottom). Tested during Spring Training, next season, independent testers will do the actual measurements of the players.