At the 2025 MLB All‑Star Game in Atlanta, the Automated Ball‑Strike system (ABS) was on full display for the first time in an official Major League contest. In just the fifth batter of the game, Detroit Tigers ace and American League starter Tarik Skubal’s 0-2 changeup to Manny Machado was initially called a ball by home‑plate umpire Dan Iassogna. That call came under challenge by catcher Cal Raleigh and was swiftly overturned as a strike by ABS, resulting in Machado’s strikeout.“I thought it was a strike,” Raleigh said.
As one of the sport’s premier pitchers, fresh off a dominant All‑Star selection, Skubal was quick to embrace the moment, quipping with a laugh: “You take them any way you can get them, boys.”
Resigned Realism
While appreciative of the benefit in that moment, Skubal’s tone wasn’t too enthusiastic. In a follow‑up with reporters, he conveyed a more resigned sentiment:
“If the rule is coming, it doesn’t matter what I feel like. You have to make adjustments. It’s the same thing with the pitch clock and not being able to shift anymore. It doesn’t matter what players feel like. We don’t have much say in our own game. Whatever they want, they push through, and this seems to be something that they want, so you might as well get used to it.”
Mixed Reactions Around the League
The All‑Star Game trial illuminated a growing divide within baseball ranks. Commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged the tension, but emphasized that player acceptance remains a top priority.
“My single biggest concern is working through the process and deploying it in a way that’s acceptable to the players,” Manfred said. “There’s always going to be things around the edges that we need to work through and whatever, and I want them to feel like we respected the committee process and that there was a full airing of concerns about the system, and an attempt to address those concerns before we go forward.”
Yet skeptics voiced concern. World‑class slugger Manny Machado, on the receiving end of Skubal’s challenged pitch, opposed the technology, stating, “I don’t like taking the human element out of the game…That’s a drastic change, and it’s a big one…I’m old school, though.” He hinted at preferring alternative methods before fully overhauling umpiring.
“I thought it was great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The fans enjoy it. I thought the players had fun with it. And there’s a strategy to it, if it does get to us during the season. But I like it. I think it’s good for the game.”
MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark also raised flags about unresolved issues, such as precisely defining the strike zone boundaries and ensuring measurement accuracy, asserting that player input remains crucial before any systemwide implementation.
What’s Next for ABS–and Skubal
The All‑Star Game’s ABS experiment produced five challenges, four successful–all executed without major delays.
“I’m assuming it’s coming next year,” Skubal said.
MLB’s competition committee is set to weigh the data later this summer and may green‑light a full rollout in 2026.
For Skubal, already season‑ing himself to challenges, absorbing this rule change is another adjustment in a career defined by evolution–from Tommy John rehabilitation to ascendancy as baseball’s top pitcher.
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