An immaculate inning in baseball is when you strike out all 3 batters in 3 pitches, all in one inning. This feat is extremely rare and usually happens only about 5 times a season. Dodger’s pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, was robbed of an immaculate inning by Marvin Hudson, an MLB umpire who called the pitch above a ball. A ball is when a pitch is outside of the strike zone, or the white box. A ball does not count as a strike. This call, along with many other human mistakes, caused an uprising in people demanding for robotic decision makers.

The MLB’s Automated ball-strike system, or ABS, has been used in the Minor Leagues since 2022. The ABS is a camera system that determines where the baseball crossed the plate. This is used when a player challenges a call, or thinks the umpire made the wrong call. If it is proven that the umpire made the wrong call, the challenge is successful. If successful, the challenge is kept and can be used again. If unsuccessful, the challenge is lost. In 288 spring training games, there was an average of 4.1 challenges a game with a success rate of 52.2%.

The ABS system will officially be integrated into the regular season and post season of the MLB. Most of the MLB players are in favor of this change because it will allow them to be more in control of their at bats. Although, a few are against it because this may institute a fully AI controlled game.

Cites –

https://www.si.com/mlb/dodgers-yoshinobu-yamamoto-immaculate-inning-robbed-umpire-terrible-missed-call

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6144194/2025/02/20/abs-robot-umps-mlb-spring-training/?source=athletic_pulsenewsletter&campaign=15000600&userId=18966780