Major League Baseball has announced today that the the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System will be in place for the 2026 season. MLB has been testing this system in recent years, including in AAA for the last few seasons and in spring training this season.

Per MLB, the rules for ABS challenges are as follows:

Each team will get two challenges per game. If a challenge is successful, they retain that challenge going forward.

Only the pitcher, the catcher, or the batter can initiate a challenge, and the challenge must be made immediately after the pitch. Thus, there won’t be a situation like with replay challenges where a staff member can communicate with someone in the clubhouse or wherever and get feedback on whether or not to challenge — the players involved will be making the call.

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