MLB Approves ABS Challenge System for 2026 Season

Major League Baseball’s Joint Competition Committee voted in September 2025 to implement the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System for the 2026 season. This system introduces a new process for reviewing ball and strike calls during MLB games.

Starting on Opening Night in 2026, players will be able to challenge umpire decisions on balls and strikes by tapping their helmet or cap. When a challenge is initiated, the ABS review will be shown on stadium videoboards for all attendees to see.

Only the batter, pitcher, or catcher is permitted to initiate a challenge, and dugout assistance is not allowed under the new rules. Each team will begin every game with two challenges, and if a challenge results in an overturned call, the team retains that challenge for later use in the game.

If a game reaches extra innings and a team has no remaining challenges, the team will receive one additional challenge for each extra inning played. These procedures are designed to structure the use of challenges throughout the game and maintain a consistent review process.

What the numbers show

• During the first 10 days of 2026 spring training, teams averaged 2.3 ABS challenges per game
• Overall challenge success rate was 51.3%, with the Athletics at 69.2%
• Challenges in 2025 spring training averaged 13.8 seconds to resolve

The ABS system has undergone several years of testing before its approval for MLB games. It was first used in Minor League Baseball in 2019, expanded to Triple-A in 2022, and later applied during MLB spring training in 2025. The system was also used in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.

Data collected from the initial 10 days of 2026 spring training showed that teams used an average of 2.3 ABS challenges per game. The overall success rate for challenges during this period was 51.3%, and the Oakland Athletics achieved the highest rate at 69.2%.

Resolution times for challenges have also been measured. During spring training in 2025, the average time to resolve an ABS challenge was 13.8 seconds, indicating a relatively quick review process for disputed calls.

The introduction of the ABS Challenge System marks a procedural change in how ball and strike calls are reviewed in Major League Baseball. The system’s implementation follows multiple years of testing and evaluation at different levels of professional baseball.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.