BALTIMORE — MLB Adopts Tech for Balls and Strikes; Foul Calls Next?
Major League Baseball has started employing technology to validate or challenge balls and strikes, but could a similar system be needed for foul calls?
The Baltimore Orioles were left feeling frustrated during their game against the Yankees on Wednesday night. A deep fly hit by Pete Alonso to left field was called a foul in the seventh inning, and the umpire upheld that decision.
The game was tied at three runs at that moment. The Yankees went on to score two runs in the eighth inning, ultimately winning 5-3.
Alonso commented, “I think a straightforward solution is to use a camera like in soccer, where you have one positioned above the goal line. For us, a simple laser or a directly focused camera could provide clarity.”
Manager Craig Albanaz voiced his agreement with Alonso’s sentiment, indicating that the iPads used by players in the dugout already have ball tracking data. “It’s tough to reconcile that call when you see the visual evidence in the dugout. It’s 2026,” Albanaz expressed. “Teams use AI on iPads and other sports have embraced ball tracking data for challenging calls. I’m not sure why we’re behind.”
Some replays seemed to show that the ball was fair, but the angle from which the footage was captured was unclear.
Alonso added, “I was told that to overturn a call, you need two camera angles to confirm it. But the best perspective—down the line where you can see if the ball is fair or foul—wasn’t available. So, the video room called it a foul, and that’s just how it is.”
If Alonso’s hit hadn’t soared that high, perhaps the referee and replay team would have found it simpler to make a more accurate decision. It almost appeared that he was hitting over the foul pole.
Baltimore’s starting pitcher, Chris Bassitt, expressed disbelief that in 2026, there isn’t adequate technology to definitively tell if a ball is fair or foul. “It’s unbelievable,” he remarked, attributing the lack of tech to financial constraints. “It’s about money, plain and simple. That’s really all it comes down to.”
