ABS Challenge Debuts
Early in the MLB season the new automated ball‑strike (ABS) system already produced the league’s first ABS challenge and the first ejection tied to an ABS challenge. ( ) ESPN’s spring coverage is also tracking reliever roles and who might close as bullpens settle in during the opening weeks. (espn.com) DraftKings Network published the probable starting pitchers for April 13, giving the clearest day‑ahead look at matchups. (dknetwork.draftkings.com)
Major League Baseball’s new ball-strike challenge system reached two milestones in its first two weeks: the first challenge and the first ejection tied to one. (mlb.com) (si.com) The first regular-season challenge came on Opening Night, March 25, when New York Yankees infielder José Caballero challenged a called strike from San Francisco Giants starter Logan Webb and lost. Sports Illustrated said that play became the first ABS challenge in league history. (si.com) (mlb.com) The first ejection tied to the system followed on March 29, when Minnesota manager Derek Shelton argued that Baltimore closer Ryan Helsley had not challenged quickly enough on a full-count pitch to Washington’s Josh Bell. Sports Illustrated reported Shelton was tossed after Helsley’s successful challenge turned ball four into strike three. (si.com 1) (si.com 2) The system is not full-time “robot umpiring.” Major League Baseball kept the home-plate umpire’s live call and added a limited appeal, with only the pitcher, catcher or batter allowed to challenge immediately after the pitch. (mlb.com) (fansided.com) Each club starts with two challenges, keeps a challenge if the call is overturned, and is guaranteed at least one challenge in extra innings. ESPN reported that the Joint Competition Committee approved the format before the 2026 season. (espn.com) (mlb.com) Major League Baseball says the technology checks each pitch against the batter’s individualized strike zone, using Hawk-Eye tracking and a T-Mobile private network. The league tested versions of the system in Triple-A beginning in 2022, then in 2025 spring training and the 2025 All-Star Game before bringing it to the regular season this year. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) Spring data helped push the rollout. In 288 spring training games in 2025, Major League Baseball said teams averaged 4.1 challenges per game and each review took 13.8 seconds. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) The early regular-season numbers are now public, too. Baseball Savant’s ABS dashboard tracks challenge rate and success by teams, players and umpires, turning the strike zone into another live layer of game strategy. (baseballsavant.mlb.com) That new layer is landing at the same time clubs are still sorting out ninth-inning jobs and daily pitching plans. ESPN’s reliever chart updated April 12 said Bryan Baker had emerged at the front of Tampa Bay’s closer committee, while MLB’s daily probable-pitcher pages and other schedule trackers outlined Monday, April 13 matchups across the league. (espn.com) (mlb.com) Two weeks in, the system has already produced the kind of moments Major League Baseball expected: a hat tap, a scoreboard replay, and an argument over timing instead of only over the zone. (mlb.com) (si.com)
