MLB adds AI pitch tracking
Major League Baseball will deploy an AI‑augmented camera system to track pitches alongside human umpires, and automated officiating systems are debuting in the big leagues — creating new, precise pitch datasets for broadcasters and apps. Those data streams are likely to power richer real‑time fan experiences. (wknofm.org) (theglobeandmail.com)
MLB’s Automated Ball‑Strike (ABS) Challenge System runs on twelve Hawk‑Eye cameras per stadium and transmits pitch data and challenge graphics over a private 5G network provided by T‑Mobile for Business’ Advanced Network Solutions. (mlb.com) Each club begins games with two challenges and keeps any successful challenges; teams that exhaust challenges in the first nine innings receive one new challenge for the 10th and additional single challenges in subsequent extra innings per MLB’s official rules. (mlb.com) The complete ABS review—from on‑field tap to the videoboard/broadcast ruling—takes roughly 15 seconds on average, according to broadcast and sports operations reporting. (cbssports.com) MLB defines the ABS strike zone as a two‑dimensional plane centered on the 17‑inch plate, with the top set at 53.5% of a batter’s measured height and the bottom at 27% of that height. (espn.com) Statcast’s live pitch and player tracking pipeline is now Hawk‑Eye powered and routed into Google Cloud infrastructure, with stadium camera arrays capturing ball and player movement (the platform description cites 12 high‑resolution cameras and near‑real‑time feeds into the cloud). (hawkeyeinnovations.com) MLB distributes those pitch‑level data streams through venue‑side feeds and broadcaster operations tooling (MLB’s Statcast AMQ/venue integration and MLB Broadcast Products & Services), and official data partners such as Sportradar surface near‑real‑time MLB stats to media and app developers. (daktronics.com) In league testing, teams averaged about four ABS challenges per spring‑training game with a combined overturn rate of roughly 52.2%; catchers produced a 56% success rate on challenges, hitters 50% and pitchers 41%, per league trials cited in reporting. (espn.com)
