MLB’s compelling new automated ball-strike challenge system

Baseball is often best when the individual is tested with a chance to be unselfish. Well, we might soon be seeing more of that than ever.

This afternoon in Glendale, Arizona, the Cubs and Dodgers will kick off the spring training slate with the first (unofficial) game of the 2025 season.

While this is certainly a joyous occasion for those of us starved for baseball, it’s also a notable one. The reason? This match up will introduce major league players to MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system.

Here’s a tweet providing a quick rundown of how it works:

Now before we dive any deeper, it’s important to note this system will NOT be coming to regular season MLB games in 2025. However, if this spring training trial goes anywhere near as well as I think it will, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it arrive in major league ballparks as soon as 2026.

Personally, I not only hope we see it in about 13 months, but I also hope it comes in the exact form they’re planning to use it now, because intentionally or unintentionally, MLB is about to hit on something that will create a damn near perfect batch of side effects. A byproduct that deepens one of baseball’s greatest qualities: the struggle between the individual and the group.

Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

First off, back on the surface level, this ABS challenge system is a huge value add to the game. When it was implemented in Triple-A Worcester last year, I got to see it play out a few times, and I loved everything about it. It’s quick, it’s dramatic, it’s easy to understand, and it holds the umpires accountable for their biggest strike zone related mistakes. What’s not to love?

But then I started imagining it in place at major league level, and I only got more excited. Specifically, I kept coming back to this combination of facts:

1. Only the hitter, the pitcher or the catcher can call for the challenge.
2. They have to do it immediately. If they don’t, the umpire can (and in some cases did) deny the challenge.
3. Each team only gets two of these per game if they’re wrong.

Stop and think about what this will do over the course of a game and a season at the major league level. You have a limited number of incorrect challenges, and only the players in the heart of the action at any given moment can use them. Drama!

If MLB holds firm on this, and lord I hope they do, you’re instantly going to introduce a fascinating new element to the sport: Individuals making calls in what’s supposed to be in the best interest of the team while their personal statistics are on the line. I can’t wait to see how that plays out!

Suppose a hitter is up with two out and nobody early in the game and is rung up on a 1-2 pitch he’s about 95 percent sure was a ball. Does he challenge? How angry are his teammates going to be if he does challenge and he’s wrong? What’s the discourse like after the game if the team loses in part because they’re out of challenges in the 8th or 9th inning after one got burned in a low leverage spot early by a guy in a slump or a contract year?

Within a month or two, you’re going to have guys known for being more trigger happy in these moments. How’s that going to go over in clubhouses?

You’re also going to have some guys who are just better at knowing if the pitch was a ball or a strike. Do they get special permission from the manager to use the appeal system more aggressively? And on that note, how much does each manager get involved? At the end of the day, the players have to make the call on the field and in the moment, so it’s a delicate balance of trusting guys to do what’s best for the team, and stepping in if they’re not doing that.

At its core, it’s pure baseball. The ultimate struggle between the individual and the group. A perfect addition to the game that takes place as a series of individual acts, but ultimately needs as much team depth as any other sport for the group to be successful. I can’t stress enough how much I love this!

Of course, none of this will be obvious when the first challenge is issued today in the Cabs vs Dodgers game. The starters will be shuffled out quickly, the stakes are too low, and fans will be more interested on how the ABS system works in practice. But if it all goes well and without incident, we’re one step closer to the reality of glorious side effects.