ABS challenge system quickly makes an impact in All-Star Game debut

New York Times

a day ago

ATLANTA – It took all of eight batters for the Automated Ball-Strike system to make an impact at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, its first such appearance in a non-spring training MLB contest.
Facing an early 2-0 deficit, in the bottom of the first inning, with Ketel Marte on second base, American League starting pitcher Tarik Skubal used it against Manny Machado after an 89.5 mph changeup that clipped the bottom of the zone was called a ball.
It transformed a 1-2 count into a strikeout looking for the inning's second out, and thus the first successful ABS challenge at the All-Star game was minted.
Entering Tuesday night's Midsummer Classic, Skubal didn't anticipate using ABS but ended up signaling for the call, alongside catcher Cal Raleigh and even shortstop Jacob Wilson.
'No, honestly I wasn't even going to use them, but I felt like that was a strike,' Skubal said.'You want that in a 0-2 count, especially with the way the inning was going — the ball finding a lot of grass.'
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Raleigh acknowledged that, despite having not discussed the ABS system with Skubal, it was a necessary call in the moment.
'Obviously a strike and thought it was, called for it and it helped us out,' Raleigh said.
With the second out secured, Skubal plowed past Will Smith on three straight fastballs to end the inning and escape any further damage.
'It's coming, whether players like it or not, it's going to come, so might as well get used to it,' Skubal added.
If there's anyone who's gotten used to rules changes early, it's Machado. Back in 2023, Machado became the first hitter to start an at-bat with 0-1 count after a pitch-clock violation that resulted in an automatic strike.
'I was the first in spring training, so I kinda figured out I would be the first,' Machado said about being on the receiving end of the first successful ABS challenge. 'Should've swung at the pitch, actually. I knew it was a strike instantly.'
Despite his side getting its early traffic ended early, National League manager Dave Roberts was a fan of the system's overall implementation in a game.
'I thought it was great,' Roberts said. 'The fans enjoy it. I thought the players had fun with it. And there's a strategy to it, if it does get to us during the season. But I like it. I think it's good for the game. I'm okay with it.'
While the eighth batter of the game presented the first challenge, it wasn't the only one on the night. In total, four challenges were utilized, with Wilson, the A's 23-year-old shortstop, being part of two of them, as both a defender and batter.
In the fifth inning, Wilson successfully overturned a 1-0 fastball that was called a strike initially, giving him a 2-0 count in his final at-bat of the night.
'I don't really think about it too much,' Wilson said. 'I just saw we had it today and I thought Skubal's was a strike. I was like 'Oh, maybe. Just cause why not, we have it?'
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'I thought the pitch that I saw was a little bit down. That was a successful challenge. It's just funny to use the ABS in the All-Star Game for me just being a young guy.'
Wilson said he experienced the ABS system in Triple A, one of multiple young players to have gone through the minors with the system as a normal part of a game.
He acknowledged that an unsuccessful challenge could put the team in a bad spot, particularly late in the game, making the decision to tap the top of his head not an easy one.
'It's definitely very nerve-wracking,' Wilson said. 'It could be a strike and I could waste a challenge for my team but at the same time I ended up being right. It's definitely different for sure. Something I never really experienced.'
The first-time All-Star said with a smile that with the two successful challenges on Tuesday, plus two more from his time in the minors, he's batting 1.000.
A novelty to some, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he plans to introduce a proposal for implementing ABS as early as next season, meaning its impact could extend far beyond AL or NL supremacy in a mid-July exhibition.
'It's interesting,' Kyle Schwarber, the 2025 All-Star Game MVP said. 'I think it's a unique way for the league to kind of try different things. …To have it kind of out there for the fans to see what it will look like in a real situational game (where) things are on the line, I think it was just a way for them to see that.'