Baseball fans split on new tech changing the game

Automated balls and strikes have officially come to Major League Baseball, and 38% of Americans are completely on board.

That’s according to a new survey of 2,000 Americans, which found that nearly four in ten respondents think that having a computer call balls and strikes is a positive change for the game.

Automated balls and strikes (or ‘ABS’) is a new system that the MLB has installed for the 2026 season. Each team has two ‘challenges’ per game, where they can tell the ump they think they got the call wrong. However, once you’re wrong twice in the same game, you’re out of challenges for the rest of the game.

While 38% said they loved the change, 20% disagreed. However, 42% said they don’t know what to think about the new change at all.

The survey, conducted by Talker Research, also found that this change may inspire viewers to check out more games.

The results showed that 21% said the new ABS system will encourage them to tune into more games than they usually do.

But 54% said it won’t move the needle much for them personally.

With technology becoming more sophisticated every year, it begs the question of why sports games and their outcomes rely so much on humans getting the call right on the field.

For a quarter of Americans, this is a point of frustration.

Twenty-five percent of those polled said they want to see even more automation in sports and less reliance on referees and umpires.

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Though 43% of traditionalists disagree and don’t want to see their favorite sports succumb to the way of computers.

The survey also humorously asked respondents what they’d challenge in their personal lives if they had an ‘ABS’ system in their day-to-day life.

One respondent said they’d love to use a challenge in their fights with their husband, while another said they’d use it on their salary.

Another said they’d like to challenge the price of their bills, with one respondent wanting to tap the helmet about what their scale tells them they weigh.

WHAT AMERICANS WOULD USE AN ABS CHALLENGE ON IN THEIR OWN LIVES

• Fights with my husband
• Price of my bills
• Major life decisions
• My rent
• Jury duty
• My own decisions
• My husband’s driving
• Gas prices
• What my scale tells me I weigh
• My supervisor at work

Research methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans; the survey was administered and conducted online by Talker Research between April 3 to April 8, 2026.

To view the complete methodology as part of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, please visit the Talker Research Process and Methodology page.