Major League Baseball has undergone several rule changes in recent years, including the introduction of the pitch clock, the extra-inning runner and infield shift violations. The sport has undergone significant changes in a relatively short time. However, Major League Baseball may have its most significant change beginning in the 2026 Regular Season.
The Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) System has been discussed for the sport of baseball for some time, although it is often referred to by other names, such as the “Robo-Umps.” Umpires for sports are rarely perfectly accurate, so the proposed rule change is planned to improve the consistency in calls.
For example, instances such as the “Eric Gregg Game,” in which an umpire heavily impacted the game by consistently making poor calls against the Atlanta Braves in a playoff game against the Florida Marlins.
The new system enables batters, pitchers and catchers to challenge a call made by an umpire, and it quickly verifies whether the pitch was, in fact, a strike or a ball. Teams will have two challenges per game and will have the option to retain a successful challenge. The system aims not to entirely replace the human aspect of having an umpire while attempting to limit poor calls that can significantly impact the outcome of a game.
“It’s a bit of a double-edged sword in the way it will change the game,” said Rand Bestermann, a senior catcher on the GCSU baseball team. “On one hand, it will help the flow of the game and make it more enjoyable for the viewer. And there will be no more frustration from players and fans alike. On the other hand, it takes away some of the character and life from the game because having human error from an umpire adds emotion, intensity and personality to the game that this technology can’t replicate.”
Major League Baseball tested out the ABS System during the Spring Training games before the 2025 Regular Season. From such tests, the pitching team won 54.4% of challenges, edging out the hitting team, which had a flat 50.0% success rate. Catchers won the most challenges at 56%; they helped their pitchers, who challenged poorly at a 41% clip. Notably, only 2.6% of pitches were challenged during Spring Training, and approximately 80% of the games involved five or fewer challenges.
“I see both sides of it,” said Jake Beaver, a senior pitcher on the GCSU baseball team. “What makes baseball, baseball is the human element of it. Umpires can make mistakes. If there’s a pitch I don’t think should have gotten called a strike, but the umpire calls it that way, I’m definitely not going to argue. But as a hitter, I would want the strike zone to be as small as possible. I wouldn’t want to strike out on a pitch that was two balls off the plate.”
Umpire Scorecards, a popular database used to track the consistency and performance of umpires, show that there has been a trend of improvement in overall umpire performances over the past few years; however, the worst umpires have seemed to get worse rather than improve.
CB Bucknor has been at the center of the umpire discussion for the previous year, as while he has been in the league for a long time, his Umpire Scorecards have most definitely decreased as his service time in Major League Baseball has increased.
However, the Automated Ball-Strike System could impact catcher framing, which refers to the catcher’s ability to make a pitch outside the strike zone appear to be a strike, essentially deceiving the umpire’s judgment and influencing the call in favor of the defense.
“I believe framing is one of the most important aspects of a catcher’s game because a well-framed pitch can turn a borderline ball into a strike, changing the outcome of an at-bat and even the flow of an inning,” Bestermann said. “It’s a subtle skill that can make a massive difference over the course of a game. However, with the implementation of the ABS, the importance of framing will definitely dwindle. As a result, catchers will need to focus more on other key skills like blocking and throwing runners out.”
Major League Baseball will begin heavily focusing on the implementation of ABS in all thirty ballparks come the offseason. While the previous rule changes have definitely impacted the sport, ABS may be the most divisive in the baseball world.