Yankees Embrace ABS Challenge System as Spring Training Opens: “We’re in a Pretty Good Place With It”
TAMPA, Fla. - For years, Aaron Judge has lived in a strike zone that doesn’t quite match reality. When you’re 6-foot-7 with a textbook eye and a strike zone that seems to stretch into the dirt, you’re bound to get rung up on pitches that wouldn’t sniff the knees of most hitters. It’s part of the price he’s paid for being a unicorn at the plate - a generational hitter with a frame built like a tight end.
But that might be about to change.
As the Yankees opened spring training for pitchers and catchers on Thursday, one of the biggest storylines wasn’t about arms or velocity. It was about the Automatic Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system - the long-awaited, oft-debated technology finally making its way to the majors after years of testing in the minors and last spring’s trial run.
This won’t be a full robot-ump takeover. Instead, it’s a challenge-based system where teams get two chances per game to contest a ball or strike call.
If the challenge is correct, they keep it. If not, it’s gone.
And just like that, the strike zone - long a source of frustration for hitters like Judge - becomes a little more democratic.
The Yankees are treating this change with the seriousness it deserves. On Day 1 of camp, they held a 75-minute “ABS Education & Strategy” meeting before the team even stretched. That’s how high this is on the priority list.
Manager Aaron Boone and his staff have been laying groundwork for months, diving into the nuances of how to best use the new system. The plan is to use spring training as a proving ground - test out scenarios, see who’s got the best eye, and refine their strategy before Opening Day.
“We’ll set that more in place when we get ready to break camp and then probably continue to evolve with it throughout the year,” Boone said. “We’ve done a lot of work on it behind the scenes, a lot of meetings and stuff this winter, just kind of going through it and trying to tighten.”
Right now, everyone on the field - pitcher, catcher, or hitter - has the green light to challenge. But Boone admits there’s a pecking order when it comes to who he trusts most in that moment.
“Definitely, I think catcher probably number one with who I’m the most comfortable with challenging, then hitter, then pitcher,” Boone explained. “But that being said, at this point, I’m not taking it away from any of our pitchers.”
It’s a balancing act. The catcher has the best view, sure, but pitchers - especially veterans who know their stuff and the zone like the back of their glove - aren’t being ruled out.
The key, Boone says, is education. Helping pitchers understand when to trust their gut and when to defer.
“All of this is about helping them understand who they are and what the first couple years of this has looked like in the minor leagues and in spring training,” Boone said. “We’ll have certainly a strategy behind it and try and constantly be out in front with them so they know in the moment as best we can.”
Max Fried, the Yankees’ newly acquired All-Star lefty, is curious to see how it plays out. He’s not ready to commit to challenging in games just yet - not until he gets a few live reps under the system.
“There’s a couple times in a game where I think a pitch is there and I’d really like the opportunity to see if it was,” Fried said. “There are also times that I know that I threw a pitch that probably wasn’t a strike, and you get it.”
Fried acknowledges that over the course of a season, the calls tend to even out. But it’s the borderline ones in big moments - the ones that shift at-bats, innings, or even outcomes - that stick with you. That’s where ABS could be a game-changer.
“I guess I’m going to have to really pay attention here in spring training and see if my eyes are as good as I think they are,” he said. “If I’m really good in spring, then I might have a little bit more liberty of doing it in the game. But if I’m not, I might just refer to the catcher.”
And then there’s Judge - the three-time MVP who’s had more than his share of questionable low strikes. Boone isn’t sure exactly how much the new system will help him, but he likes the odds.
“I look at it as our guys that are really good at controlling the zone, it should benefit,” Boone said. “Aaron is certainly one of those guys that controls it really well, knows it real well. So I would say hopefully he is one of those guys that benefits from it.”
If the system works as intended, hitters like Judge - who’ve spent years being penalized for having elite plate discipline - could finally get a fairer shake. And for pitchers like Fried, it’s a chance to test their instincts against a machine’s precision.
This spring, the Yankees aren’t just preparing for a season. They’re preparing for a new era of baseball. One where the strike zone is no longer up for debate - but how you challenge it might just become the next great chess match.