MLB to Use ABS Challenge System Starting in 2026

Why this matters here

MLB’s announcement of the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system for 2026 describes a designed strike zone: a two-dimensional rectangle at the middle of the plate rather than the full three-dimensional volume in the rulebook, after testing showed some volumetric calls looked inconsistent to players and viewers. The Game We Think We Saw uses that design choice to show that measurement still requires the sport to decide which measurable zone still counts as baseball. The source reports the league’s technological and rule design; the book asks how authority and perception meet when precision cannot discover a natural zone.