Following Major League Baseball's introduction of the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system this season—allowing teams two challenges per game on ball/strike calls with personalized strike zones—players and managers are approaching it cautiously. In the first 62 games, teams issued 227 challenges (3.7 per game), reflecting a learning curve as highlighted by early successes, misses, and reflections.
The first official challenge came Opening Night from New York Yankees' José Caballero against San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb in the fourth inning—a called strike correctly upheld. Earlier, Aaron Judge passed on two high strikes. In the Yankees' next game, Judge successfully challenged a low ball, leading to a home run that broke a scoreless tie. In Seattle, the Yankees won all five challenges, with Caballero and Giancarlo Stanton overturning strikeouts, though they lost the game. Manager Aaron Boone noted the high-leverage impact. Some teams like Colorado and St. Louis had zero hitter challenges entering Tuesday; Atlanta lost both early ones. Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh regretted not challenging a borderline slider: “Looking back, yeah, I should’ve done it.” They didn't challenge at all in their 6-4 opener loss. Philadelphia's Brandon Marsh said, “We’re all still trying to get a good gauge for it.” San Diego's Craig Stammen wants more aggression: “I'd like to see us finish the game with no challenges left.” Oakland's Mark Kotsay discussed timing after passing on a key pitch to Nick Kurtz, who succeeded later. MLB data shows 55 ninth-inning and 12 full-count misses unchallenged. Successful challenges average +0.2 runs, with no direct loss cost.
