As we enter the final week of the 2025 MLB season, the league has made a significant announcement, stating that it will implement an Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System for the entirety of the 2026 season.

What is an ABS challenge system?

The ABS challenge system is not “robot umps,” as many had feared would come to baseball. Instead of being an automated system that calls every ball and strike, the ABS Challenge System allows teams to request a review of important ball-strike calls during a game. It’s a balance between a fully technological system and the current system that includes natural human error from the very human umpires.

If you’ve watched a tennis match, then you already know how this ABS system will work. After a given pitch is delivered during a game, a batter, catcher,

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