Sports
Dodgers ‘don't hate the idea’ of MLB’s automated ball/strike system
PHOENIX — Before the first-ever game at the Major League Baseball level to include an automated challenge system for reviewing balls and strikes, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had only one rule.
“I told Muncy not to challenge,” Roberts joked of veteran third baseman Max Muncy, a notoriously selective hitter with a critical eye at the plate. “He’s our biggest culprit of not agreeing with the strike zone. So I said, ‘Save your challenges.’”
In the Dodgers’ 12-4 spring training loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday at Camelback Ranch, Muncy obliged.
Unfortunately for him, his pitching counterpart didn’t.
In the bottom of the first inning, in an 0-and-1 count against Cubs right-hander Cody Poteet, Muncy took a called ball that was at the knees and over the inside corner of the plate.
“When that ball crossed,” Muncy said, “I thought it was a strike right away.”
So did Poteet. And for the first time, there was something he could do about it.
After watching home plate umpire Tony Randazzo rule the pitch a ball, Poteet quickly tapped his head to signal for a challenge, triggering an immediate review using MLB’s automated ball-strike system (or ABS, for short). On the scoreboard, a digital rendering of the pitch suddenly appeared, one based on data from the Hawk-Eye ball tracking system installed at the ballpark. And then, much like the ball tracer technology used to review points in professional tennis, an animation showed that Poteet’s pitch had indeed clipped the corner of the strike zone.
A 1-and-1 count was changed to 0-and-2. Muncy, who struck out looking on a similar throw three pitches later, was left to be the victim of a milestone moment in baseball rules history.
“I look out there and he’s tapping his head,” Muncy recounted after the game, “and I went, ‘Well, I’m going to be the first one.’ ”
For now, MLB’s use of ABS is still in an exploratory phase.
There are no immediate plans, or long-term timeline, to introduce the system in regular-season games yet. Questions remain about the precision of the technology, and how large a role it should have in games that actually count.
“I’m curious to see how it plays out,” Roberts said before Thursday’s Cactus League opener. “Haven’t made a decision on if I’m a fan or not.”
Still, after experimenting with the idea of ABS at various levels of the minor leagues over the last half-decade, MLB decided to give it a trial run in spring training this year, installing the Hawk-Eye technology at select Cactus and Grapefruit League ballparks — the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch facility among them — in its most ambitious effort yet to make balls and strikes reviewable.
“It’s interesting,” Muncy said. “I don’t hate the idea of it. The technology, I think they’ll admit, is not entirely there yet. But it’s a cool idea and I like it. It’s just something that’s different.”
In a nutshell, here are the rules:
- Pitchers, catchers and hitters can trigger a review on any pitch by simply tapping their head after a ball/strike call is made. No one else, including even managers, can make a request for a challenge.
- Each team will get a minimum of two challenges per game, and will retain any challenges that are successfully overturned (for example, the Cubs still had two challenges remaining after Poteet’s ball to Muncy was changed to a strike on Thursday).
- Challenges must be signaled immediately after a pitch. If an umpire believes a pitcher, catcher or hitter delayed calling a challenge to look for a signal from the dugout, for example, their request will not be granted.
“It doesn’t slow the game down at all,” Muncy said. “It moves fast.”
In fact, during its experimentation in the minor leagues, MLB found that each challenge added only 17 seconds of game time. On Thursday, Muncy joked that the longest part of the process was Randazzo trying to get his stadium microphone to turn on in order to announce Poteet’s challenge to the crowd.
“I think it’s actually a pretty good system,” Roberts said after the game, coming away with a positive first impression. “Especially in a big spot, you want to get the call right.”
If (or more likely, when) the system is incorporated into regular-season games, it will likely draw more polarizing views in a sport that has relied on human umpires for balls and strikes for virtually its entire existence.
Not only will the reliance on ball-tracking technology mark a substantial change, but games would be infused with a new strategic dynamic — one that could go beyond just figuring out the most optimal times to challenge a call.
“Pitchers eventually may be able to take advantage of certain things, or pitches that are just typically not called [for strikes now],” veteran outfielder Michael Conforto theorized. “But I guess that’s why we’re doing it in spring. So I’m excited to see how it goes.”
Hitters, conversely, could also benefit, since the ABS strike zone wouldn’t vary game to game the way those of rotating human umpires do; especially in an era when catchers are taught to frame each pitch.
“When you get some really good catchers back there — like Will [Smith] and [Austin] Barnes, guys that can really stick a low pitch very well and make it look so much like a strike — you want to challenge it, but it’s a ball,” right-hander Bobby Miller, who experienced ABS during multiple stints in triple-A last year, said before Thursday’s game (when he took a comebacker off the head that landed him in concussion protocol).
“I’m not a huge fan of it; I always liked the umpire calling balls and strikes,” Miller added. “But a ball is a ball and a strike is a strike. So it is what it is.”
According to Smith, the Dodgers haven’t spent much time discussing the strategic elements of ABS in spring camp.
“I’m sure we’ll come up with a strategy of how we’re using it,” he said. “We’ll have the front office look at what makes sense in their mind, what makes sense in the hitter’s mind, what makes sense in the catcher’s mind. We’ll figure it out. But we’re not too worried about it right now.”
Muncy, meanwhile, was treated to some good-natured ribbing after Thursday’s ABS-assisted strikeout — coming out on the short end of a system that, in its MLB-level debut, his manager jokingly didn’t want him using.
“Of course it’s me that gets the first one after all those guys are joking about it. So fitting,” Muncy said with a laugh. “When I came back, Freddie [Freeman] was waiting for me, just laughing right in my face. Go figure.”
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities amid the recent Iranian counter-attack on the country following the U.S.-assisted strikes on Iran.
The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) provided a statement to Fox News Digital announcing the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.”
“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read.
“At this time, all training activities have been temporarily suspended, pending approval from the relevant authorities to safely resume operations. Naturally, the suspension of training and the closure of airspace are causing considerable stress and concern. However, the safety and well-being of our gymnasts and professional staff remain our highest priority. We sincerely hope for safer and calmer days ahead, when we can focus solely on sport.”
A source within the team told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began.
Israel’s gymnastics team is considered one of nation’s strongest Olympic programs alongside its Judo and sailing teams. The team is only a week removed from a successful trip at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany, where the country’s star Artem Dolgopyat won the gold medal in floor gymnastics.
Now, the team will have to seek safety until the attacks are over.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place either in or near their residences as Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.
Additionally, the embassy announced that due to the security situation, it would be closed on March 2, and did not give an estimate on when it would be reopening. The closure includes consular sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The embassy also said it is “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” It noted that Ben Gurion Airport remains closed and there there are neither commercial nor charter flights operating from the airport.
On Friday, ahead of the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the embassy gave all non-essential workers permission to leave Israel, with reports that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged those looking to leave to do so as soon as possible.
Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem.
The strikes landed in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Initial reports said four people were killed when missiles landed in a residential area on Sunday, but that death toll rose to eight, according to Israel’s national emergency service.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Iran’s military has carried out counterattacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
The strikes also killed several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Local chapters of National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame have begun honoring the top senior football student-athletes, with the Coastal Canyon area banquet set for Sunday in Agoura.
Players are selected based on their grade-point averages and leadership skills, among other attributes, honoring the best of the best.
Such players as James Moffat from Crespi, Mateo Bilaver from Chaminade, Jacob Paisano of Hart, Diego and James Montes from Granada Hills Kennedy will represent their schools on Sunday.
The Los Angeles chapter will hold its gathering in Manhattan Beach on Friday.
Simi Valley coach Jim Benkert has taken over running the Coastal Canyon group with dozens of individual student-athletes set to be honored.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sports
US Olympic hockey hero Jack Hughes opens up about support for women’s team amid backlash over Trump’s joke
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Team USA Olympic hockey hero Jack Hughes spoke about his support for his country’s women’s hockey team after his team was the subject of backlash for laughing at a joke by President Donald Trump about the women’s team.
During an interview on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” Friday, Hughes opened up about his respect for the women’s team after McAfee appeared to reference the controversy by joking that Hughes and his teammates “hate” the women players.
“We are hanging out with them so much, the women’s team. We were supporting them. Like, we were at their games, they were at our games,” Hughes said.
Jack Hughes of the United States celebrates after a gold medal win during against Canadaat Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games Feb. 22, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Hughes then appeared to address the recent criticism of his team for its response to Trump’s joke.
“Like all these people talking, how many of them watched their gold medal game? Me and Quinn Hughes were at the game. We were at the game until like overtime ended on the glass, and we were jumping up and down so excited for these girls, so excited they won,” Hughes said.
“And how many of these people watched the gold medal game, watched their semifinals game? Like 10 of the 10 of our players went to their game in the round-robin. Like, we supported them so much, and we’re so proud of them. We’re so happy that they won, and they brought a gold medal back and that, you know, I said it, the men’s and women’s team both brought gold medals back. So, just unbelievable for USA hockey.”
Hughes, who scored the game-winning overtime goal against Canada to win gold, reflected on his interaction with the player on the U.S. women’s team who did the same, Megan Keller.
“Me and her had a great moment in the cafeteria after her gold medal game. We played Slovakia the next night, and it was like a late game. And we were in the pasta line — me and Megan. They were just getting ready to go out again, and I just gave her a massive hug, and I said, ‘I’m so happy for you. I’m so proud of you,’” Hughes said.
“A couple nights later, saw her again in the [cafeteria], and we took a great picture and, uh, she just gave me a big hug and was so pumped for me as well.”
Hughes told reporters after the game the first thing he thought about when the puck went in was Keller, who scored the golden goal for the United States women’s team against Canada three days earlier.
US WOMEN’S HOCKEY GOLD MEDALIST SAYS IT’S ‘SAD’ MEN’S TEAM HAD TO APOLOGIZE FOR OLYMPICS CONTROVERSY
The controversy surrounding the men’s team stemmed from a locker room phone call between the players and Trump right after their gold medal win over Canada.
Trump told the men’s team after inviting them to Tuesday’s State of the Union address that he’d “have” to invite the women’s team, otherwise “I probably would be impeached.” The team laughed in response, prompting immense backlash.
Several mainstream media outlets penned op-eds condemning the men’s team for laughing at the joke and then visiting the White House to celebrate and Trump’s State of the Union address.
The United States’ Jack Hughes (86), who scored the winning overtime goal, celebrates after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
U.S. women’s hockey captain Hilary Knight said on Wednesday’s edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” that Trump’s “distasteful joke” has “overshadow[ed]” the women’s success.
“I thought it was sort of a distasteful joke, and, unfortunately, that is overshadowing a lot of the success, the success of just women at the Olympics carrying for Team USA and having amazing gold medal feats,” Knight said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“We’re just focusing on celebrating the women in our room, the extraordinary efforts, and continue to celebrate three gold medals in program history as well as the double gold for both men’s and women’s at the same time. And really not detract from that with a distasteful joke.”
Hughes’ mother, Ellen, a former Team USA player and current player development staff member, said the players only cared about “bring[ing] so much unity to a group and to a country.”
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Related Article
Tennessee baseball vs Virginia Tech live updates: Highlights, TV channel
South Texas Blood & Tissue sends blood units to Austin after 6th Street mass shooting
Utah Jazz starter Keyonte George is back but wants to be ‘cautious’ as he returns from injury
Vermont’s oldest museum opened almost 150 years ago. How to visit
Virginia Huffman Obituary February 27, 2026 – Ott & Lee Funeral Homes
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Video: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms
Dems’ potential 2028 hopefuls come out against US strikes on Iran
At least nine killed after Iranian strike on Israel’s Beit Shemesh
Mass shooting at Austin, Texas bar leaves at least 3 dead, 14 wounded, authorities say
Mamdani’s response to Trump’s Iran strike sparks conservative backlash: ‘Rooting for the ayatollah’
-
World4 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts4 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Denver, CO4 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana6 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Technology1 week agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology1 week agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Politics1 week agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT