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Atlanta – Smaller league baseball players have had the opportunity to become familiar with the automated ball strike (ABS) system. Major League players were introduced to it in spring training, but when the regular season began, human referee gave up if a pitch fell within the strike zone.
The challenge system, which has given rise to some controversy in the baseball world, debuted in Primetime Tuesday night in Atlanta at 2025 MLB All-Star Game.
It didn’t take long for the ABS system to affect Midsummer Classic.
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An ABS challenge on the scoreboard under the 95th MLB All-Star Game in Truist Park on Tuesday, July 15, 2025 in Atlanta. (Mary Decicco/MLB photos via Getty Images)
At the bottom of the first place, the American league joint Tarik Pushal’s pitch for Padre’s Infielder Manny Machado was called a ball. The order resulted in a 1-2 number instead of a strike. But it was appealed to the ABS Challenge system that sent Machado to Dugout with a strike.
“I’m not a fan of ABS,” Buxton told Pakinomist Digital in the American League Clubhouse Tuesday, a few hours before the Robot Umpire Challenge system debuted at All-Star Game in Atlanta.
‘I thought they were crying’: The tension and confusion of MLB’s first all-star swing-off
“That’s why baseball is as it is now. That’s why you get crazy Instagram messages, Twitter messages now. Abs seem to make things a little more complicated (because), if you can bet on whether it jug (s) will throw a strike or not. … it’s pretty crazy for me.”
Minnesota Twins Outfielder Byron Buxton during the 2025 Home Run Derby in Truist Park in Atlanta July 14, 2025. (Brett Davis/Imag images)
Buxton says Pete Rose’s baseball career should be respected
“I don’t know how many people get 4,000 hits,” the 31-year-old told Pakinomist Digital. “In my opinion, it’s pretty crazy that he wasn’t in the Hall of Fame to be able to see it. It’s just one of these (things) where, give him respect (no other player has), as many hits, so give him respect.”
In May, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other deceased players announced from the league’s “permanently unjustified list.”
Byron Buxton from Minnesota Twins reacts after safely slipping into the second base after hit a double against the National League during the ninth lap of the MLB All-Star game in Truist Park 15 July 2025 in Atlanta. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Buxton hit a key double in the ninth lap of Tuesday night’s All-Star game at Truist Park. The National League won the first swing-off in All-Star Game History to secure his second All-Star win in three years.
