When the 2025 MLB All-Star Game kicks off on Tuesday, July 15, at Truist Park in Atlanta, fans won’t just be watching the best players in the league—they’ll also be getting a sneak peek at what could be the future of baseball officiating. For the first time in All-Star history, Major League Baseball’s Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system will be in play.
It’s a bold move, but not a surprising one. MLB has been slowly easing into this change, testing the system across the minor leagues and spring training. Now, the brightest stage of the summer will serve as the testing ground for millions of fans.
At its core, the ABS challenge system is designed to make calling balls and strikes more accurate—and more fair. But unlike a fully robotic strike zone, which removes human umpires from the equation, this system still gives the home plate umpire the first call. The twist? Players now have the ability to challenge those calls, much like coaches in the NFL or managers in the NHL.
Here’s how it works:
Each team gets two challenges per game.
A challenge must come immediately—no advice from the dugout.
Only the pitcher, catcher, or batter can initiate a challenge by tapping their helmet.
If a challenge is successful, the team keeps it.
Challenges are resolved using the Hawk-Eye tracking system, which analyzes pitch location in real time. When a challenge is made, the pitch is shown to fans on the stadium video board and broadcast in dramatic fashion—adding a dose of instant theater to every contested call.
If you’re going to experiment with something that could change the game, the All-Star Game is the perfect venue. It’s not a game that affects the standings, but it still draws national attention. And with baseball looking to modernize and appeal to younger fans, integrating tech like ABS during one of its most-watched events makes a lot of sense.
Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who got regular updates from MLB during spring training, praised the system’s speed and entertainment value:
“Seems like it’s created interest in the game. You have to challenge right away... and I think it’s created interest with the fans. They have fun with it.”
According to ESPN, MLB polled fans during spring training and found strong support:
72% said ABS was a positive experience.
69% said they’d like to see it become a permanent part of the game.
Those are encouraging numbers for a sport that’s often slow to change. For years, there’s been tension between tradition and innovation. But with players, coaches, and fans largely onboard, ABS may be one of the rare changes that finds broad support.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has said he will formally present an ABS proposal to MLB’s 11-member competition committee later this summer. That committee, which includes representatives from the league, players, and umpires, will decide if ABS will go into full effect for regular-season games—possibly as soon as 2026.
Still, Manfred emphasized that this will be a careful rollout:
“My single biggest concern is working through the process and deploying it in a way that’s acceptable to the players.”
In other words, don’t expect the robo-umpires to take over just yet. But Tuesday’s All-Star Game could be the most high-profile step in that direction so far.
This isn’t about replacing umpires—it’s about getting calls right in the most critical part of the game: the strike zone. Baseball fans have spent decades debating borderline calls. ABS doesn’t remove the drama—it refocuses it. Now fans can watch challenges play out in real time, with data and visuals to back it up. It’s modern, it’s fast, and—importantly—it keeps the human element intact.
Whether ABS becomes part of regular-season baseball remains to be seen. But if the All-Star Game goes off without a hitch, we could be watching the beginning of the most significant rule change since replay review.
