A First in Professional Baseball: Yuba-Sutter Freebirds to Utilize Full Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) System for Entire Season

The Yuba-Sutter Freebirds announced today that the club will implement full Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) technology for all home games during the 2026 season, becoming the first professional team to roll it out for an entire season.

That's right. Every pitch. No debates. No "that looked a little outside to me."

While Major League Baseball recently introduced Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenges, the Freebirds are skipping the baby steps and going straight to a fully automated strike zone. If you were hoping to argue balls and strikes with your buddy in the bleachers, you still can. You'll just both be wrong less often.

Before anyone panics, let's be clear. The home plate umpire is not going anywhere.

"This is about bringing fans closer to the game without changing the heart of it," said Freebirds General Manager Harrison Shapiro, who created the plan to leverage ABS technology for an enhanced fan experience. "The home plate umpire remains a central part of Freebirds baseball. ABS gives everyone in the ballpark the same view of each pitch in real time. It adds transparency, not replacement."

Powered by TrackMan technology, the system determines whether each pitch passes through the strike zone and instantly communicates the call to the home plate umpire, who will continue to signal balls and strikes just like always. At the same time, fans will see a live strike zone on the video board with pitch location and call in real time.

So yes, you can finally point at the screen and say "I told you so" with scientific backing.

This moment has been a long time coming. As an official MLB Partner League, the Pioneer Baseball League has been baseball's test kitchen for innovation. ABS is one of several technologies that has been tested in the PBL before making its way to MLB.

Case in point. The Pioneer Baseball League tested the "Knockout Round" Home Run Derby to decide extra-inning games before a version of it showed up at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.

So if you're seeing it here, there's a decent chance the rest of baseball is about to copy it.

ABS is designed to enhance the fan experience, not change the soul of the game. The rhythm stays the same. The drama stays the same. The only thing disappearing is the collective "what was that call?" moment.

And if we're being honest, that moment has had a pretty long run.

The Freebirds will debut full ABS at Bryant Field on May 19, 2026 against the Long Beach Coast.

History will be made. The strike zone will be visible. And somewhere, a chicken mascot named "Willy" will absolutely ruffle his feathers over it.

Get your merch and tickets now before the start of the 2026 season!