MLB’s new automated ball-strike system may be winning over fans with its accuracy. Reportedly, during the first 47 games of the 2026 MLB regular season, the ABS challenge system identified 94 wrong calls that were subsequently overturned. So, numbers proved that the new system is a hit and it’s here to stay. But the umpires tasked with overseeing it are raising alarms about a concerning anomaly in how it operates.
“Now, there are hourly employees throughout Major League Baseball. The question a couple of umpires raised was whether hourly employees should be in charge of such an important thing and matching those strike zones,” MLB insider Ken Rosenthal shared via Foul Territory.
The automated system needs to know every batter’s strike zone to work correctly. Since a tall player like Aaron Judge has a vastly different zone than Jose Altuve, outside testers measure the players in spring, and MLB double-checks the data.
Umpires have raised concerns about MLB using hourly employees to match hitters’ strike zones for the ABS zone, says @Ken_Rosenthal. pic.twitter.com/cccWCq014k
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) April 10, 2026
Measurements are mandated to occur between 10 a.m. and noon local time because research shows people “shrink” slightly throughout the day as their spines compress. Verification: At least two measurements are taken; if they differ by more than a few millimeters, a third is taken, and the results are averaged.
However, while this is all part of the standard protocol of ABS, as per Rosenthal, umpires complain that MLB is employing hourly employees to measure the strike zones, and they question whether it’s safe enough to entrust such an important task to personnel not directly employed by MLB.
There are several areas where MLB employs hourly human resources, but in the case of matching strike zones, they are always verified by the officials. But Rosenthal says that the umpires would want to be involved in matching the strike zones. “Umpires would want umpires to run those, so it’s more employment for more umpires.”
That could be a valid point where umpires would take the roles of matching the strike zone. That could even help in their decision-making during the game. But overall, ABS proved to be a lot bigger challenge for the umpires. “Some fans, including some of my children, think this is a great thing because it’s making the umpires look bad and it’s showing that they aren’t great at their jobs and it’s correcting mistakes and all of that,” Rosenthal said.
So, with ABS increasingly overturning wrong calls, MLB umpires’ jobs are getting harder. They are no longer only focusing on the pitch but also trying to avoid embarrassment.
ABS is steadily becoming a favorite among the players
The fans were the ones who rallied behind ABS even before its inception in MLB. A few players were skeptical about its effectiveness. For example, Paul Skenes initially preferred to have more of a human element in baseball. He shared how pitchers think every throw is a strike, only to be overturned by ABS.
“I really do like the human element of the game. I think this is one of those things that you kind of think umpires are great until they’re not. And so I could kind of care less, either way, to be honest,” he said last year. However, recently he said, “So, now I’m all for it. I’ve totally flipped my stance on it. I’m all for it. It’s great.”
Reason? Skenes faced the impact of wrong calls back in 2024. In a game against the Cubs, Skenes had to throw a few extra pitches due to the missed calls.
However, we think the batters were more satisfied with how things are going. And why not? In most cases, it is the pitchers whose strike calls were getting overturned. In spring, Skenes struck out four and walked four against the Braves. However, the Braves used the ABS to successfully challenge four of his called strikes, overturning all of them into balls.
In a recent Reds-Red Sox game, veteran umpire CB Bucknor’s consecutive strike calls got overturned by ABS and twice saved Eugenio Suarez from being called out.
So, while the players might be getting accustomed to ABS steadily and the fans are loving it, it is the umpires whose job just got harder. Rosenthal might have hinted at the concerns accumulating in the umpires’ camp.
