MLB All-Star Game to feature automated balls and strikes system: report

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Next week's MLB All-Star Game is going to look a little different from years past.

The midsummer classic will be the first non-spring training game to feature the automatic balls and strikes system (ABS), according to ESPN.

The system was a full-go in spring training this year after several seasons in the minor leagues. Teams got two challenges per game but were able to retain each challenge won. Only the batter, pitcher or catcher could challenge a call, and it had to be immediately after the call with no help from the bench or other players.

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The All-Star Game logo on a sign at Truist Park during a game between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels. (Brett Davis-Imagn Images)

The system needed some fine-tuning at the time, but apparently, enough has been done for Commissioner Rob Manfred's office to introduce a proposal to MLB's competition committee to have the system in place by 2026, a goal he had in mind last summer.

"I think that teams are really positive about ABS. You know, I do have that unscientific system that I use – my email traffic – and my distinct impression is that using ABS in spring training has made people more prone to complain about balls and strike calls via email, to me, referencing the need for ABS. That is undoubtedly true, undoubtedly true," Manfred said last month.

ESPN noted that 72% of fans who were polled during spring training said their experience at games with ABS was "positive," versus just 10% being negative. 

Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during the Grapefruit League Spring Training Media Day at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Feb.