MLB approves ball-strike challenge system for 2026 season

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Sep 23, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Starting next season, MLB players will be able to challenge balls and strikes a few times per game.

A vote on Tuesday approved the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System, which had been tested in the minor leagues, at spring training and during this summer’s MLB All-Star Game.

The rule change will grant teams two challenges per game, with the reviews using cameras to determine whether the ball or strike in question was called correctly by the home plate umpire.

Only a batter, pitcher or catcher can initiate a challenge with a tap of his hat or helmet. Help from the dugouts will not be permitted.

Teams that have run out of challenges will be granted another to begin extra innings.

“The previous rule changes that have been adopted by the Joint Competition Committee have had staying power and created momentum for the game,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

“We used the same process with ABS that started with listening to fans, conducting extensive testing at the minor league level, and trying at every step to make the game better.”

Automated systems have been experimented with in different baseball leagues as far back as 2019, but the ABS Challenge System came this year to MLB spring training, where 52.2% of challenged calls were overturned.

The system is seen as a compromise for those who advocate for full-blown robot umpires and others who prefer a human element, which includes the pitch framing technique mastered by MLB catchers. The result of Tuesday’s vote had been widely expected.

This is the latest notable rule change under Manfred, with previous examples including a pitch clock, a ghost runner in extra innings and a mandate for relievers to face at least three batters.