Feb 24, 2026; Dunedin, Florida, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) is congratulated in the dugout after he scored a run during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Yankees Seem to Have Already Mastered ABS System

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Jordon Lawrenz | Last updated Feb 25, 2026 3:00 PM ET

Each team has roughly a month to master the new automatic ball and strike system, but it seems like the New York Yankees are already up to speed.

In their recent 8-7 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, New York successfully challenged six of their seven strike calls.

On SI's Joe Randazzo joked this system may have saved manager Aaron Boone's life as the team has found new ways to keep at-bats alive and their knowledge of the strike zone is second to none.

This won't always be the case, but going 6-7 just five games into Spring Training is a sight to behold. When looking at some of their challenge calls in Dunedin, it's clear this team is ready to use this new system to their advantage.

Yankees Sucessfully Challenge Six of Seven Strike Calls vs. Blue Jays

The Yankees went 6 for 7 in challenging strikes.

ABS might save Aaron Boone’s life pic.twitter.com/oL82Ah92UW
— Joe Randazzo (@YankeeLibrarian) February 24, 2026

Just two pitches into the game, center fielder Trent Grisham challenged a strike call that made the count 1-1. While it seems silly to use a challenge at this point in the game, the 29-year old was confident he'd win the challenge, and he sure did.

A few innings later second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. wasn't a fan of the strike three call against him. With the count at 1-2, he was able to get it switch to 2-2 on a pitch that was clearly outside the zone.

Shortstop Jose Caballero was able to turn another 1-1 count into 2-0 on a pitch that ABS ruled was 0.4'' outside of the strike zone. That pushed the Yankees to 4-5 on correct challenges for the day but Caballero wasn't done there. Getting ruled up on a full count, Caballero challenged to draw a walk as this pitch was just 0.2'' outside the zone.

Catcher Austin Wells was called out on strikes but he had a successful challenge of his own to keep his at-bat alive in the fifth inning. The pitch he saw was an astonishing 1.3'' out of the zone which shows just how impactful these calls can be.

ABS Changes Everything

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Implimenting the pitch clock certainly helped speed up games, but if the Yankees are challenging seven strikes a game things could get interesting. Either way, they were successful in all but one of their calls and that's why they kept getting more chances to tap the helmet.

Umpires aren't perfect, far from it. Seeing as this was only the fifth Spring Training game, everyone needs some time to get back up to speed. It's not ideal for the man calling balls and strikes to be overruled this many times, but the Yankees clearly knew the strike zone better than him and it paid off against their AL East rival.

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This article first appeared on New York Yankees on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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