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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchTo understand an MLB pitch call, separate three things: the strike zone in the rulebook, the home-plate umpire’s initial judgment, and the zone used to review an eligible challenge. In the 2026 MLB system, the umpire still makes the call first; a batter, pitcher, or catcher can immediately challenge it, and the review uses a defined tracking zone rather than simply checking whether the pitch crossed a TV graphic.
What makes a pitch a strike?
The strike zone is a rule-defined area over home plate, not a flat box painted on the broadcast. MLB’s available 2019 Official Baseball Rules edition describes a three-dimensional zone whose vertical boundaries relate to the batter’s stance. That document is historical, so it is useful for understanding the rulebook concept but should not be treated as confirmation of every current rule detail. Read the 2019 Official Baseball Rules.
In a game, the plate umpire judges pitches as they pass the batter and applies the zone to the pitch’s path. That judgment can differ from a viewer’s impression because the pitch is moving through three-dimensional space, the viewing angle is limited, and a broadcast graphic may not use the same reference point as the review system.
Why can a called strike look outside the TV box?
A televised box is a viewing aid, not the official challenge boundary. MLB says its ABS challenge zone is evaluated at the middle of home plate, whereas TV graphics have historically shown a zone at the front of the plate. A pitch can change position as it travels across the plate, so a two-dimensional overlay from a particular camera angle cannot establish the exact path or predict the official review result. MLB also describes the human-called zone as generally more rounded than the rectangular ABS challenge zone. MLB’s 2026 ABS overview.
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In 2026, a challenge does not ask whether a pitch matched the umpire’s general judgment or the broadcast box. It tests the pitch against the specific ABS boundaries. A call can therefore be understandable under one view and still be overturned under the other.
How the 2026 ABS challenge zone is measured
MLB’s announced ABS zone is a two-dimensional rectangle at the plate’s midpoint. It is 17 inches wide, with a top boundary at 53.5% of the batter’s measured height and a bottom boundary at 27%. The ball counts as a strike for the challenge if any part of it touches the zone. These are MLB’s specifications for the system approved for the 2026 season. MLB’s system announcement.
| Question | Rulebook and umpire view | ABS challenge view |
|---|---|---|
| What is being judged? | A rule-defined, three-dimensional strike zone; the umpire makes the initial call. The cited rulebook source is the 2019 edition. | A two-dimensional rectangle at the middle of the plate, using the ABS boundaries. |
| How is height handled? | The rulebook concept relates the zone to the batter’s stance. | Top: 53.5% of measured batter height; bottom: 27%, per MLB’s 2025 announcement for the 2026 system. |
| What counts as touching the zone? | The umpire judges the pitch under the rulebook standard. | Any part of the ball touching the zone makes it a strike for the challenge, according to MLB. |
| Does the TV box decide? | No. A broadcast overlay is not the umpire’s actual view of the pitch path. | No. The review uses the defined zone and plate-midpoint measurement, not the on-screen graphic. |
How an MLB challenge works
The 2026 format keeps the umpire’s call as the starting point. MLB announced that the challenge system would be used in Major League Spring Training, Championship Season, and Postseason games beginning in 2026. The procedure is:
- The home-plate umpire calls the pitch a ball or strike.
- Immediately after the call, the batter, pitcher, or catcher may request a challenge. Dugout personnel cannot prompt the request.
- Hawk-Eye tracking evaluates the pitch against the ABS zone, and the result is shown to the crowd and broadcast.
- If the challenge succeeds, the call is overturned and the team keeps that challenge. If it fails, the team loses it.
Each club starts with two challenges. A team that has none remaining when it enters an extra inning receives one challenge in that inning. MLB described the review process as taking approximately 15 seconds in its 2025 system announcement; that is an approximate duration, not a guaranteed time for every review. See MLB’s announcement and challenge rules.
What the tracking system does—and what it does not mean
MLB says 12 Hawk-Eye cameras track pitch location; its Statcast ABS dashboard says the system uses the Hawk-Eye technology that also powers Statcast. The 2025 announcement also describes a private 5G network from T-Mobile for Business’ Advanced Network Solutions. The tracking supplies the measurement for the challenge, but it does not turn every pitch into an automatically called ball or strike. Nor can a fan reproduce the official measurement from an ordinary TV angle. MLB’s ABS Challenge Dashboard.
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What MLB’s 2025 experiment suggests about challenges
MLB.com’s 2026 guide reports results from MLB’s 288-game 2025 Spring Training experiment. Those figures describe that experiment, not 2026 regular-season performance:
- 52.2% of challenged calls were overturned.
- Catchers succeeded on 56% of their challenges, hitters on 50%, and pitchers on 41%.
- There were 4.1 challenges per game on average, and a challenge took 13.8 seconds on average.
MLB.com also cites a 2-2 count example in which MLB research put the umpire-called zone at 449 square inches and the ABS zone at 443 square inches. That is one reported example, not a universal area measurement or proof that the zones are always nearly identical. MLB’s 2026 challenge-system guide.
Why MLB uses challenges instead of automatic calls on every pitch
The challenge format preserves the umpire’s role on routine pitches while allowing players to contest a call they believe is wrong. In MLB’s September 23, 2025 announcement, Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. said: “The strong preference from players for the Challenge format over using the technology to call every pitch was a key factor in determining the system we are announcing today.” That is MLB’s stated rationale for the format, not an independent finding about player preferences.
When a call seems surprising, first ask whether you are looking at the umpire’s initial judgment or an ABS challenge result. Then account for the difference between a three-dimensional rulebook concept, the challenge zone’s measurements at the plate’s midpoint, and the perspective of the broadcast graphic.
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