Starting next week, all Triple-A games will use the automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system instead of the full ABS, according to a memo issued by Major League Baseball. The memo was originally obtained and reported on by ESPN.
The memo said the change will start June 25. Before, the ABS was used for half the week, for Tuesday-Thursday games, and the ABS challenge system was used for the other half, Friday-Sunday.
The ABS system is fully automated, meaning the calls are made by the system and relayed to the umpire through an earpiece. The challenge system is when the umpire makes the calls and the ABS system is used to challenge those calls. The batter, pitcher or catcher can appeal the call; each team gets three unsuccessful challenges per game.
In May, commissioner Rob Manfred said it was unlikely the system would be in place in MLB for the 2025 season. However, he said those who have played with the ABS system prefer the challenge system, and “that has certainly altered our thinking on where we might be headed.”
“There’s a growing consensus in large part based on what we’re hearing from players that the challenge form should be the form of ABS, if and when we bring it to the big leagues, at least as a starting point,” he said.
(Photo of umpire wearing ABS system equipment from a Low-A game in 2022: Thomas Bender / Herald-Tribune / USA Today)
