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After years of complaining about umpires being bad at calling balls and strikes in Major League Baseball, this spring we are finally going to get our first look at how robot umps might change the game for the better. Technically, it is called the automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system, and the San Diego Padres gave it a test run during some live batting practice on Wednesday.
In the video, Padres pitcher Yu Darvish is on the mound throwing to an unidentified teammate when the catcher calls the pitch strike three. The batter then challenges the call and up on the big board we get to see that he was, in fact, correct, and the pitch was a ball. Amazing, right? Technology that’s been available for years actually works!
We just had a preview of the ABS Challenge system during Yu Darvish’s live BP!
A strike call overturned into a ball. Take a look: pic.twitter.com/XMA1BvRqus
— Sammy Levitt (@SammyLev) February 19, 2025
While that was pretty much just a demonstration, the real thing will be used in a majority of Cactus and Grapefruit League games this spring, beginning with a nationally televised Cactus League game between the Cubs and Dodgers on Thursday. If you are a baseball fan, get ready for a whole lot of talk about the automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system.
“I was in Triple A, rehabbing, once, and I saw it,” Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow told Jayson Stark of The Athletic last year. “And dude, it was like, the most fun part of the game. Oh, it was so much fun — because (when you challenge and you’re right), you feel vindicated.”
Yankees starter Luis Gil also tested out the new robot ump system on Wednesday. “I think it’s good,” NorthJersey.com reports he said. “At the end of the day, we’re all human. Umpires…can make a mistake, I can make a mistake, thinking a pitch is close and it’s not. If there’s a way to correct something in the moment, I think it will help.”
Sadly, the robot ump system, which has was used in the Minor Leagues last season, won’t be used in the Major League Baseball regular season until 2026 at the earliest. So, once fans see it in action in Spring Training, expect it to be mentioned a lot this summer when calls don’t go their way during games that count.
Here’s how it works: Home plate umpires will call balls and strikes like normal. The batter, pitcher or catcher can challenge a call, but it must be made immediately and without assistance from the dugout or another player. Each team gets two challenges for the game, regardless of the number of innings, and if a call is overturned they get to keep that challenge to use again later in the game.