ABS system is coming to Major League Baseball

Some additional notes: 

• Challenges can be kept if they are successful.
• Challenges can only be initiated by the pitcher, catcher, or batter.
• No help from the dugout will be allowed.
• In extra innings, each team will be awarded an extra challenge per inning if they do not have any challenges remaining.

“The previous rule changes that have been adopted by the Joint Competition Committee have had staying power and created momentum for the game,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said, via MLB.com. “We used the same process with ABS that started with listening to fans, conducting extensive testing at the Minor League level, and trying at every step to make the game better. 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.”

Manfred deservedly receives a lot of criticism. Major League Baseball is far from perfect, but recent rule changes have it trending in the right direction. The pitch clock, bigger bases, and minimum batter requirements for pitchers have done a tremendous job in shortening the game and making it more exciting.

The ABS system should do the same. The challenges take minimal time and will help remedy one of the biggest problems in the sport — poor umpiring behind the plate. In doing so, it also adds an entirely new element of strategy behind when to use challenges, and which players on each team should be trusted to make those calls.

For now, challenges will be limited to just a few times per game for each team. But if this turns out to be a roaring success, it’s fair to expect these new rule changes to be tweaked in the future.