I think it will come down to the players history of the knowing the strike zone and the umpires. Teams have books on each umpire and how they call games.
Also, this has been in the minors for two years now iirc and players coming up will have a historical record of correct/incorrect challenges.
Watching this in the minors for a while now itās interesting just how much that box will become the holy grail. If that ball touches the line of the box itās a strike. At the same time if it misses it by 1/8 inch itās called a ball.
I like the fact that they are limiting the challenges as they are, keeps some of the human element in.
I loved the Fox tracks pucks
I agree. I do like the challenge aspect of it. Makes it a little more strategic when to use.
Im ok with it being a challenge only thing for the regular season. Because the season is so long.
However the playoffs need to be fully automated
Because (on average) 35-40 missed calls in a 5 game series can have a major impact
I actually really donāt like the box on tv broadcasts. Clearly the players or umpires canāt see and then a drunk guy at the bar Is yelling at the tv cause he sees a pitch barely nick the upper left corner of a computer generated box outline. If the box wasnāt there, the same guy would say yea thatās high and ball 4. But the box makes him furious. I prefer to watch feeds without them. Hard to find though.
I understand that, however, the box will lead too a consistent strike zone, in my feeble opinion. Which is a good thing.
Now, how consistent the box is, well, that is the next question.
What you do is you take every players measurements before the season starts and program that into your computer. Then you have automated balls and strikes all season long based on the official measurements. That easy.
Boxes are not created equal! 
When Kirk comes up the Box is barely off the ground
They currently do that for the minors.
Have a player stand in batting position and measure the top and bottom zone
Simple and easy.
This is accurateā¦
Yea but cant argue it. And cant be pissed for a PERFECT pitch.
Umps missing 8ā off the plate. Yea im way more pissed at that
Oh, I agree, Iām looking forward to them implementing it.
T igers had 5 off the plate pitcjes called strikes tonight MIN had none
League has approved ABS, good, looking forward to it. IIRC, it adds 13-17sec per challenge.
# MLB approves Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System for 2026 season
full link at article
Major League Baseballās competition committee on Tuesday afternoon approved the introduction of the automated ball-strike system, or ABS, for the 2026 regular season. Every team will begin next yearās games with two challenges of the home plate umpireās strike zone, and a team will not lose one of its challenges when it gets the challenge right. When a challenge is issued, the umpire will review how a high-tech camera system called the pitch, and that determination will be final.
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Some players on the committee, however, opposed the rule change as proposed Tuesday.
āThe vote of the players on the committee was not unanimous, which was reflective of the broad player sentiment,ā the Players Association said in a statement Tuesday.
At the All-Star Game, MLBPA head Tony Clark expressed concern over teams getting the closest of calls reversed and wondered whether a buffer zone should be considered. Manfred said at the time that was not on the table.
Thereās one change from the way MLB tested the system during spring training: Every team will have at least one challenge at the beginning of each individual extra inning that is played. So if a team has exhausted both of its challenges in the first nine innings, it will receive an extra one to start the 10th. But a team will not receive an extra one if it still possesses one or two.
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