The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →In an August 2023 interview, Seattle Mariners chairman John Stanton described MLB’s new rules as an effort to shorten games and create more action, while saying the league was still working out how to translate the strike zone into a computer algorithm. On Shohei Ohtani, then approaching free agency, Stanton said Seattle would consider him but believed the team was strong with or without him. MLB later announced a different, specific plan: a human-called ABS Challenge System for major-league games beginning in 2026.
What Stanton said about the 2023 rule changes
Stanton, who chaired MLB’s Competition Committee at the time, discussed the 2023 rule package in an interview with GeekWire published August 10, 2023. He said the changes were intended to make games shorter and bring more action to the field.
- Pitch clock: part of the effort to shorten games.
- Limits on defensive shifts: intended to encourage more action.
- Larger bases: another change in the 2023 package.
- Moving the mound back: Stanton said a test of this idea did not work.
Discussing the larger bases, Stanton cited a 37% reduction in injuries in Triple-A testing of 18-inch bases compared with 15-inch bases. That is Stanton’s account of the testing, not an independently established league-wide result; the interview does not provide the study methodology.
Why Stanton said “robot umps” was the wrong term
In 2023, MLB was still considering how automated ball-strike technology could be used. Stanton objected to the phrase “robot umps” because human umpires remained involved, preferring “automated ball/strike systems.”
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“In baseball, we don’t particularly like the term ‘robot umps’ because we have real people that are umpires,” Stanton said. “We look at the possibility of what we call ‘automated ball/strike systems’ — much more polite.”
The technical question, he explained, was how to convert the strike zone into an algorithm. A rulebook zone can be described as a rectangle, but human umpires often call a zone that looks more like an oval in practice.
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“We’ve had to turn that into an algorithm and we’re still working on what the right algorithm is.”
Those were Stanton’s comments on the state of the discussion in 2023, not a description of the system MLB later approved.
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What MLB approved for 2026: challenges to human calls
On September 23, 2025, MLB announced that an ABS Challenge System would be used in all major-league Spring Training, Championship Season and postseason games beginning in 2026. Under the announced format, a human umpire makes the initial ball-or-strike call. The batter, pitcher or catcher may promptly challenge it; the technology then reviews the call. This is not a system in which a computer makes every initial call.
MLB’s official announcement says the system uses twelve Hawk-Eye cameras to track pitches and the batter’s individualized strike zone. The zone is a 17-inch-wide rectangle, with its top and bottom set at 53.5% and 27% of that batter’s height.
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How a challenge works
- The umpire makes the initial call.
- The batter, pitcher or catcher promptly signals a challenge by tapping a hat or helmet and vocalizing it.
- The system reviews the pitch location against the batter-specific zone. MLB says the review takes approximately 15 seconds.
- The result appears on the scoreboard and broadcast. Each club begins with two challenges, and successful challenges are retained.
MLB reported that teams challenged just over four pitches per game, with a success rate near 50%, in 2025 Spring Training. Those figures describe that preseason testing, not a guaranteed regular-season rate. The Associated Press’ explainer on the 2026 adoption likewise distinguishes the challenge model—human calls that players can appeal to the computer—from fully automated calling.
Why MLB chose challenges rather than automated calls on every pitch
MLB said player preference for the challenge format over technology calling every pitch was a key factor in its decision. Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. said the system gives players a tool to correct a missed call in a high-leverage spot while retaining the human element and creating a fan-facing moment. Stanton was describing unresolved algorithm questions in 2023; the 2025 announcement set out the later format and its rules.
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What Stanton said about Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani was approaching free agency in 2023 when Stanton spoke to GeekWire. Stanton called him “the unicorn” and said the Mariners would “clearly look at him” and “clearly be in the conversation.” He added that Seattle had a good team with or without him.
“From our point of view, Ohtani is the unicorn. We’ll clearly look at him, we’ll clearly be in the conversation. But I think we’ve got a great team with or without him.”
This was a statement about the Mariners’ outlook at that time. It does not establish current team interest or either party’s current roster or contract status.
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