Major League Baseball’s Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system that’s been tested in the minor leagues and spring training is ready to make its big league debut at the All-Star game next Tuesday in Atlanta. FOS newsletter writer Eric Fisher explains how the technology will be used to challenge ball-strike calls and why some pitchers are on the fence about its presence. Plus MLBPA union leaders say commissioner Rob Manfred is pushing for a salary cap in his meetings with players ahead of what will be intense talks before their current labor deal expires in December 2026.
Meanwhile the biggest question looming over the Lakers’ record sale at a $10 billion valuation to Dodgers owner Mark Walter is how much longer current team governor Jeanie Buss will remain with the organization. While it was stated she would stay with the team “for the foreseeable future,” FOS ‘Asset Class’ writer Ben Horney is hearing she could leave within the next five years.
And commissioner Brett Yormark is attempting to make the Big 12 “a global conference,” with a college football game this season in Dublin, a women’s basketball game in Paris and baseball games in 2026 in Mexico City. FOS reporter David Rumsey tells Baker Machado and Renee Washington the Big 12 is looking to find the same success other leagues like the NFL and NBA have had in taking their products abroad and dishes why college coaches like Deion Sanders are calling for a salary cap.
