ABS Challenge

Simple explanation

The umpire still calls every pitch. If the batter, pitcher or catcher disputes a call, he can challenge it, and the pitch is re-judged using the same Hawk-Eye tracking that powers Statcast. Managers, coaches and other players can't get involved.

Each team starts a game with two challenges and keeps a challenge when it wins one. After two wrong challenges, it's out for the game. In extra innings, each team gets one new challenge per inning.

Benchmarks

39.7%

Pitchers

48.9%

Batters

58.6%

Catchers

Regular season. Of 10,557 challenges, 5,686 were overturned.

Detailed explanation

The ABS zone is 17 inches wide, the same as home plate, and its height is set from each player's measured height without cleats: the top at 53.5% and the bottom at 27%. The call is based on where the ball is as it crosses the middle of the plate, not the front. No challenges are allowed while a position player is pitching.

Baseball Savant launched an ABS dashboard and leaderboard in February 2026. Beyond success rate, they show challenge rate (how many challengeable calls a player actually challenged) and how many overturnable calls he cashed in. A catcher who wins most of his challenges but rarely challenges ends up with little challenge value.

Savant estimates that about half of all pitches are challenge opportunities (a called pitch against you with a challenge left), and about 5% are worth a real look. Because run values differ by situation, the bigger the moment, the less certainty a challenge needs: when the call is worth 0.3 runs, a 40% chance of an overturn is enough to break even.