By Matthew Tallarini
World Baseball Network
Jan. 14, 2022
The Automatic Balls and Strike system, commonly referred to as ABS, will make its debut in all 30 Triple-A major league affiliate stadiums in 2023, ESPN Senior Writer Buster Olney reported Thursday.
This will be a significant step toward the adoption of the new technology at the big league level in the near future.
Half of Triple-A games will be played with all of the calls determined by an electronic strike zone, and the other will be played with an ABS challenge system similar to that used in the ATP & WTA circuits of professional tennis.
Each team will be allowed three challenges per game and would retain challenges in case challenges are proved correct. Major League Baseball does not have a finalized date to implement the ABS system for all 30 organizations. In recent seasons, robotic umpires and the ABS system have been tested in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, the Arizona Fall League and the Class A Southeast League since 2019. During the 2021 season, Class A adopted the ABS system in some ballparks. Last season, the Full ABS system was tested in certain games at the Triple-A level.