Automatic Ball-Strike Challenge System Will Be Used In MLB All-Star Game
It’s been around for a few years now and seems to be having some success. We previously wrote about it in this article, explaining what it is all about. It was implemented in 13 Spring Training parks and employed in roughly 60% of Spring Training games in 2025. Due to the results of the Spring Training further exploration of the system has been authorized. Therefore, the Automatic Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system will be used in the MLB All-Star game happening next week.
During Spring Training, each team started a game with two challenges and lost them if the umpire’s call was confirmed. Batters, pitchers and catchers were allowed to challenge the ruling. Some of the results were provided by mlb.com:
- The pitching team (54.4% overturn rate) fared better than the hitting club (50.0%), with catchers succeeding at a 56% clip — considerably higher than the 41% rate at which pitchers’ challenges were successful.
- Each challenge added an average of 13.8 seconds to a game, an improvement on the 16.6-second average from Triple-A in 2024. With 4.1 challenges per Spring Training game using the ABS system, that amounts to less than an extra minute per contest. Spring games overall averaged 2 hours and 38 minutes, three minutes up from the 2023-24 average (2:35).
So the rules will be the same for the All-Star game that were used during Spring Training. Each team will get two challenges and can keep them if they’re successful. Challenges can only be initiated by a pitcher, catcher or batter, and the request must come right after the pitch. To signal a challenge, the pitcher, catcher or batter will tap his hat or helmet to let the umpire know. No help from the dugout or other players on the field is allowed.
Automatic Ball-Strike Challenge System Will Be Used In MLB All-Star Game
The ABS system powered by T-Mobile’s 5G network utilizes the Hawk-Eye system to track a pitch’s trajectory and location to relay an immediate verdict on whether it was a ball or a strike.
According to a report from ESPN, league officials say 72 percent of fans who were polled during spring training said ABS was a “positive” experience during games. Sixty-nine percent said they’d like it to be part of the game moving forward. Now you can watch the All-Star game and judge for yourself how well you like or dislike the system.
In early June, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he would present an ABS proposal to the league’s competition committee. MLB’s 11-member Joint Competition Committee is expected to meet later this summer to determine whether the system will debut in the Majors in 2026.
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