Three strikes and you’re out! Maybe not so fast anymore after Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that it will roll out a new rule allowing players to appeal to robot umpires to overturn pitches they think were incorrectly called by human umpires.
The new rule will take effect for the entire 2026 MLB season and will give each team two opportunities to challenge whether a pitch was correctly ruled a strike or ball. The pitch will then be assessed through a complex automated camera system to judge whether the human umpire was correct.
The rule to bring the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System to the MLB was approved Tuesday by the MLB’s Joint Competition Committee. The system had previously been used in the Minor Leagues, as well as during MLB spring training and the All-Star Game.
The new rules will allow two appeals per game for each team to challenge a pitch call. Challenges must be initiated by a pitcher, batter, or catcher right after the pitch. To challenge, the pitcher will tap his hat or helmet to let the umpire know. According to the MLB, “no help from the dugout or other players on the field is allowed.”
If a game goes into extra innings, each team will get one challenge per inning if it used up its challenges in regulation.
“Throughout this process we have worked on deploying the system in a way that’s acceptable to players. The strong preference from players for the Challenge format over using the technology to call every pitch was a key factor in determining the system we are announcing today,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said.
The MLB said that the system was “powered by T-Mobile 5G network” and “uses cameras set up around the perimeter of the field to track the location of each pitch and a graphic on the scoreboard shows the result of the challenge.”
“We’ve accomplished a lot through our longstanding partnership with MLB, and the rollout of ABS — powered by T-Mobile 5G — is one of our most exciting milestones yet,” said Mike Katz, the president of marketing, strategy and products at T-Mobile. “It’s a powerful example of how we’re using our technology to help MLB innovate, while preserving the character of the game we love.”
Three strikes and you’re out! Maybe not so fast anymore after Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that it will roll out a new rule allowing players to appeal to robot umpires to overturn pitches they think were incorrectly called by human umpires.
The new rule will take effect for the entire 2026 MLB season and will give each team two opportunities to challenge whether a pitch was correctly ruled a strike or ball. The pitch will then be assessed through a complex automated camera system to judge whether the human umpire was correct.
The rule to bring the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System to the MLB was approved Tuesday by the MLB’s Joint Competition Committee. The system had previously been used in the Minor Leagues, as well as during MLB spring training and the All-Star Game.
The new rules will allow two appeals per game for each team to challenge a pitch call. Challenges must be initiated by a pitcher, batter, or catcher right after the pitch. To challenge, the pitcher will tap his hat or helmet to let the umpire know. According to the MLB, “no help from the dugout or other players on the field is allowed.”
If a game goes into extra innings, each team will get one challenge per inning if it used up its challenges in regulation.
“Throughout this process we have worked on deploying the system in a way that’s acceptable to players. The strong preference from players for the Challenge format over using the technology to call every pitch was a key factor in determining the system we are announcing today,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said.
The MLB said that the system was “powered by T-Mobile 5G network” and “uses cameras set up around the perimeter of the field to track the location of each pitch and a graphic on the scoreboard shows the result of the challenge.”
“We’ve accomplished a lot through our longstanding partnership with MLB, and the rollout of ABS — powered by T-Mobile 5G — is one of our most exciting milestones yet,” said Mike Katz, the president of marketing, strategy and products at T-Mobile. “It’s a powerful example of how we’re using our technology to help MLB innovate, while preserving the character of the game we love.”
