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1h ago

MLB Approves Challenge-Based Automated Strike Zone for 2026

The move preserves human plate calls by adding fast, player-initiated Hawk-Eye reviews.

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Mar 2, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; An umpire looks at the Jumbotron during an automated ball-strike challenge aka ABS in the Los Angeles Dodgers game against the Chicago White Sox during spring training at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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Overview

  • MLB’s Joint Competition Committee voted to adopt the ABS challenge system for all 2026 spring training, regular season and postseason games.
  • Each team gets two challenges per game, retained if successful, with an additional challenge granted in extra innings when none remain; only the pitcher, catcher or batter may initiate an immediate tap-to-challenge with no dugout input.
  • The system uses 12 Hawk-Eye cameras over a T-Mobile 5G private network, with outcomes shown on ballpark scoreboards and reviews averaging roughly 13–15 seconds.
  • The defined strike zone is a two-dimensional rectangle 17 inches wide with the top at 53.5% of a batter’s height and the bottom at 27%, requiring standardized player measurements before 2026.
  • Testing with major leaguers showed about 4.1 challenges per game and a 52% overturn rate; the 11-member committee includes six owners, four players and one umpire, the umpires’ union agreed to ABS provisions in 2024, and the MLBPA said the player vote was not unanimous.