NEW YORK — Robot umpires are getting called up to the big leagues next season.

Major League Baseball's 11-man competition committee on Tuesday approved use of the Automated Ball/Strike System in the major leagues in 2026.

Human plate umpires will still call balls and strikes, but teams can challenge two calls per game and get additional appeals in extra innings. Challenges must be made by a pitcher, catcher or batter — signaled by tapping their helmet or cap — and a team retains its challenge if successful. Reviews will be shown as digital graphics on outfield videoboards.

New York Yankees outfielder Austin Slater, one of four players on the competition committee, said three voted in favor after getting support from 22 of the 30 teams. All six management reps voted in favor.

''I think with any sort of technology, there's not 100% certainty of the accurateness of the system,'' Slater said. ''I think the same can be said of umpires. So I think it's just coming to grips with the impact that technology is going to have and whether or not we were willing to live with that error that was associated with the system, even if the error is very, very miniscule.''

Big league umpires call roughly 94% of pitches correctly, according to UmpScorecards.

Adding the robot umps is likely to cut down on ejections. MLB said 61.5% of ejections among players, managers and coaches last year were related to balls and strikes, as were 60.3% this season through Sunday. The figures include ejections for derogatory comments, throwing equipment while protesting calls and inappropriate conduct.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who leads the American League in ejections for the fifth straight year, called the adoption ''inevitable.''

''Throughout the year, I've been a little not totally on board with it or exactly how it's going to be implemented but it's going to be here and hopefully that's a good thing,'' he said. "A lot of the things that Major League Baseball has done I think have been really successful in the changes they've made and hopefully this is another one of them.''

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said players will have to adjust.

''You can like it, dislike it, it doesn't matter," Vogt said as Cleveland prepared to open a critical three-game series with Detroit. "It's coming. 

It's going to change the game. It's going to change the game forever.''

ABS, which utilizes Hawk-Eye cameras, has been tested in the minor leagues since 2019. The independent Atlantic League trialed the system at its 2019 All-Star Game and MLB installed the technology for that year's Arizona Fall League of top prospects. The ABS was tried at eight of nine ballparks of the Low-A Southeast League in 2021, then moved up to Triple-A in 2022.

At Triple-A at the start of the 2023 season, half the games used the robots for ball/strike calls and half had a human making decisions subject to appeals by teams to the ABS.

MLB switched Triple-A to an all-challenge system on June 26, 2024, then used the challenge system this year at 13 spring training ballparks hosting 19 teams for a total of 288 exhibition games. Teams won 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges (617 of 1,182).

''I love it. I loved it in spring training,'' Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. ''Not all of the players, but most of the players, if you ask them, they really liked it too. I think it keeps everybody accountable. It keeps everybody on their toes.''

At Triple-A this season, the average challenges per game increased to 4.2 from 3.9 through Sunday and the success rate dropped to 49.5% from 50.6%. Defenses were successful in 53.7% of challenges this year and offenses in 45%.

In the first test at the big league All-Star Game, four of five challenges of plate umpire Dan Iassogna's calls were successful in July.

Teams in Triple-A do not get additional challenges in extra innings. The proposal approved Tuesday included a provision granting teams one additional challenge each inning if they don't have challenges remaining.

MLB has experimented with different shapes and interpretations of the strike zone with ABS, including versions that were three-dimensional. Currently, it calls strikes solely based on where the ball crosses the midpoint of the plate, 8.5 inches from the front and the back. The top of the strike zone is 53.5% of batter height and the bottom 27%.

''Throughout this process we have worked on deploying the system in a way that's acceptable to players,'' Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. ''The strong preference from players for the challenge format over using the technology to call every pitch was a key factor in determining the system we are announcing today.''

This will be MLB's first major rule change since sweeping adjustments in 2024. Those included a pitch clock, larger bases, and restrictions on defensive shifts and pitcher disengagements such as pickoff attempts.

The challenge system introduces ABS without eliminating pitch framing, a subtle art where catchers use their body and glove to try making borderline pitches look like strikes. Framing has become a critical skill for big league catchers, and there was concern that full-blown ABS would make some strong defensive catchers obsolete.

In addition to Slater, other players on the competition committee are Arizona's Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen, Detroit's Casey Mize and Seattle's Cal Raleigh, with the Chicago Cubs' Ian Happ at Detroit's Casey Mize as alternates. The union representatives make their decisions based on input from players on the 30 teams.

Bill Miller is the umpire representative.

STRIB

I heard this on Purple Daily yesterday and found it quite interesting, but does the success of the 2025 Vikings look like the 2017 Vikings?  Did O'Connell channel his inner Zimmer?

Run the football effectively with a good OL.  Play outstanding defense and turn the opposition over.  Get a backup QB in there that doesn't melt down a game plan.  Could we be seeing this all over again?

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. --- The New York Giants are planning to bench quarterback Russell Wilson in favor of first-round rookie Jaxson Dart after three games, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday.

Dart's first start will come at home Sunday against the undefeated Los Angeles Chargers at MetLife Stadium. The 25th overall pick this year out of Ole Miss served as the backup to Wilson for the first three games of the season.

The switch to Dart is a move that could reinvigorate a disappointed fan base. Fans cheered when the rookie came on the field for a snap in the second quarter on Sunday night. That contrasted with their booing after Wilson threw a second-quarter interception in a tie game in his first home game with the team.

Dart has been preparing for this moment ever since the Giants traded back into the first round to get him to New York. He has done nothing but impress since taking the field in the spring. Dart started the spring with the third-team offense and quickly worked his way past Winston early in the summer.

His first extended taste of regular-season NFL action will come against a Chargers defense that is currently allowing under 300 yards per game.

Dart will give the Giants' offense a different look and more options. His ability to run the ball and the zone-read had his version of the offense looking vastly different from the first-team unit with Wilson throughout the summer.

ESPN

Former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks has listed his historic downtown Minneapolis loft in the Mill District for sale for just over $1 million.

Downtown East, which includes much of the Mill District, is by far the most expensive neighborhood in downtown Minneapolis (the Whitney is on the border of Downtown East and West). The median sale price of all closings during August in that area was $716,600, nearly 15% higher than last year at the same time, according to data from the St. Paul Area Association of Realtors.

Loft living had is perks, Kendrick said. He was especially fond of the building’s “charm” and its proximity to the river and downtown restaurants. While he lived there only a few years, it’s full of memories.

That includes dinners with his wife on the balcony and many walks along the river “to clear my head,” he wrote in the email.

His teammates, who joined him for Thanksgiving dinners and Taco Tuesdays, also helped make it home. It’s where he celebrated Christmas with the family, walked to the nearby Mill City farmers market and took “many scooter and bike rides down the river with teammates.”

“Memories I will cherish forever,” he said in the email. “I love this place.”




https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n..._testId=40&cx_testVariant=cx_46&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
A QB change: Giants are planning to start rookie Jaxson Dart on Sunday vs. the Chargers, sources told ESPN.

Take this with a grain of salt from the Washington Post this morning.
===

Solid playoff teams
9. Minnesota Vikings (2-1)
10. Denver Broncos (1-2)
11. Seattle Seahawks (2-1)
12. Washington Commanders (2-1)
13. Indianapolis Colts (3-0)

Nobody expected Daniel Jones to open the season playing like an MVP candidate for Indianapolis, but here we are. Indianapolis is off to a 3-0 start fueled by Jones’s clean passing and timely scrambles, along with running back Jonathan Taylor’s explosive ability.

The Vikings validated our (relatively) high ranking of them by blowing out the Bengals, 48-10.
===
Why take it with a grain of salt?  Check out his order and some rationale for the top:

Top contenders
1. Baltimore Ravens (1-2)
2. Buffalo Bills (3-0)
3. Green Bay Packers (2-1)
4. Detroit Lions (2-1)
5. Philadelphia Eagles (3-0)

Baltimore still at No. 1 despite two losses? Yes. But hear me out.

This is where these power rankings diverge, sometimes considerably, from those that are simply regurgitations of win-loss records. These rankings are more indicative of what a team will do the rest of the season, not what they have done so far in a three-game sample.

The Ravens’ two losses are by one point to the Buffalo Bills (which required some heroics by Bills quarterback Josh Allen and an uncharacteristic but pivotal fumble by Baltimore running back Derrick Henry) and one possession to the Detroit Lions (who played a virtually flawless game and benefited from another uncharacteristic Henry fumble), two of the four strongest teams in the NFL, per our ratings.

If you think that’s totally off the mark, consider that my power ratings set the spread for the upcoming game between the Ravens and Chiefs in Kansas City at Ravens -2, when the Vegas line is Ravens -2.5. In other words, the sportsbooks are even more bullish on Baltimore than I am.

Besides, the Packers’ loss to Cleveland underscored how fragile the top of the NFL can be. Green Bay’s banged-up offensive line left Jordan Love little chance against the Browns’ relentless pass rush. Still, the Packers remain part of an elite cluster alongside the Bills, Lions, Ravens and Eagles, all of whom have shown they can win ugly or pull away for big victories.

Strong challengers
6. Kansas City Chiefs (1-2)
7. Los Angeles Chargers (3-0)
8. Los Angeles Rams (2-1)

In the hunt for playoff spots
14. San Francisco 49ers (3-0)
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-0)
16. Arizona Cardinals (2-1)

Average teams
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1)
18. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1)
19. Houston Texans (0-3)
20. Dallas Cowboys (1-2)

Below-average teams
21. Chicago Bears (1-2)
22. Las Vegas Raiders (1-2)
23. Cleveland Browns (1-2)

Rebuilding phase
24. New England Patriots (1-2)
25. New York Giants (0-3)
26. Miami Dolphins (0-3)
27. Atlanta Falcons (1-2)
28. Cincinnati Bengals (2-1)
29. New York Jets (0-3)
30. Carolina Panthers (1-2)
31. Tennessee Titans (0-3)
32. New Orleans Saints (0-3)

Alec Lewis
@alec_lewis
·
12m
The Vikings' rushing attack through three games in 2025:

— EPA/rush: 0.10 (2nd)
— Success rate: 49.3 (3rd)
— Yards/carry: 4.8 (10th)

The Vikings' rushing attack in 2024:

— EPA/rush: -0.06 (18th)
— Success rate: 39.6% (17th)
— Yards/carry: 4.1 (16th)

Dustin Baker
@DustBaker

A team led by Kevin O'Connell, a former QB pass-happy playcalling merchant, is running the football at a Top 5 clip per playcalling percentage.

I repeat: A team led by Kevin O'Connell, a former QB pass-happy playcalling merchant, is running the football at a Top 5 clip per playcalling percentage.

To not only sign this unknown guy like Minnesota did, but have him perform like this is kind of unreal. 26 years old, very athletic. Bull strong, long arms. Active as hell. Great leverage. Some times guys are late bloomers and get a chance. One of my faves on D now. To see him listed in Jeff Simmons territory is amazing: