When Major League Baseball wrapped up the first regular season of its Automated Ball-Strike system, the Los Angeles Angels finished ahead of the Dodgers in using it. That's according to a Los Angeles Times report published Oct. 7, 2026, which graded how teams handled ABS challenges.
The Times found that being good at challenges didn't line up with winning or hitting. The Reds led the majors in runs added through challenges but finished last in their division. On the Dodgers' side, outfielder Andy Pages challenged so poorly that manager Dave Roberts barred him from making challenges.
Here's how ABS works: cameras track exactly where each pitch crosses in real time. A batter, catcher or pitcher can dispute a ball or strike call by tapping his cap or helmet right away. When a call is overturned, Baseball Savant measures the change in run expectancy from before the pitch to after the call is reversed.
Across the league, ABS overturned 54% of challenged calls, the Times reported. Catchers did the best, winning 59% of their 5,792 challenges by turning balls into strikes. Batters won 49% of their 4,765 challenges by turning strikes into balls.
Pitchers rarely used the system. They made 182 challenges, and 72 were overturned, a success rate of 39.6%, according to the Times.
The Times excerpt we have doesn't include the Angels' team-specific challenge numbers, so this story doesn't cite any.