After tinkering with the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system for a few years, MLB finally brought the technology to the regular season in 2026. It didn’t take long before the new rule was put to use.
In the fourth inning of the Opening Night game between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, José Caballero became the first MLB player to initiate an ABS challenge.
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On the first pitch of the inning, the Yankees shortstop challenged the strike call from home plate umpire Bill Miller. It proved to be unsuccessful, giving him an 0-1 count. He grounded out on an 0-2 count two pitches later.
Awkwardly, this all happened while the Netflix broadcast was interviewing Giants manager Tony Vitello. So it took a while for the moment to be acknowledged.
The implementation of the ABS challenge system during the MLB regular season was years in the making. MLB first started experimenting with the technology years ago, but initially limited it to the minor leagues.
That changed in 2025, when the league allowed ABS challenges to take place during spring training and at the 2025 All-Star Game. The process went pretty smoothly, leading to the Joint Competition Committee voting in September to approve the use of the ABS challenge system during the 2026 MLB regular season and postseason.
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Here’s how the ABS challenge system will work in 2026:
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Each team will be given two challenges to start the contest. Every successful challenge will be retained by that team. In other words, if you challenge a call and it’s overturned, you keep your challenge and can use it later in the contest. After two unsuccessful challenges, you’re out of challenges for the game unless it goes to extra innings.
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In order to initiate a challenge, the batter, pitcher or catcher must tap their head immediately after the call. If the challenge was made in the appropriate amount of time, the umpire will announce the challenge and an ABS graphic will be displayed in the stadium showing the location of the pitch. The umpire will then announce the result of the call to the stadium.
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If a game goes to extra innings, teams will be given one challenge per inning if they’ve run out of challenges during the contest. If a team carries over challenges into extra innings, they will not receive an additional challenge in extras.
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If a position player is on the mound, the ABS challenge system cannot be used.
When the ABS challenge system was used in spring training, players challenged calls early and often during games. It’s unclear whether that particular strategy will carry over into the regular season, or if the early challenges were a way for teams and players to get used to the tactic.
While there are some clear advantages to getting a key call overturned early in a contest, using ABS to secure a game-ending strikeout or extend a final at-bat one more pitch could drastically alter the outcome of a single game.
The first ABS challenge is in the books. There will, undoubtedly, be many more to come.
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