Some Things I Think I Think: ABS challenges have made the game better — and more entertaining

∗ When Major League Baseball introduced the ABS challenge system for the 2026 season, the goal was as simple as it was obvious: to get the calls right. It was the same thought process behind the replay challenge system, which was unveiled for the 2014 season. With the available technology, it seemed ridiculous to not have a process by which teams could get improper calls overturned.

But less than a week into this season, it’s clear that ABS promises more than just the correct ball and strike calls; there’s also an entertainment quotient making games more compelling. The challenge system is not only capable of turning strikes into balls — and vice versa — but also introducing new levels of strategy and drama. Teams must be smart about retaining challenges for late in the game.

Doing so helped the Red Sox win on Opening Day in Cincinnati, and two days later, the failure to preserve a challenge for the later innings ultimately helped cost them a game. The Sox were left with no safeguards against C. B.

Bucknor’s imprecise strike zone — and they had only themselves to blame. But the system also produces moments of great tension. The instant a catcher or hitter taps his hat to signal a challenge, the entire ballpark — managers, players and fans — turns to the video board in the outfield to watch the outcome of the ruling.