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Yankees’ Aaron Boone gets real on ‘strageic’ ABS challenge approach
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- Yankees’ Aaron Boone gets real on ‘strageic’ ABS challenge approach
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The post Yankees' Aaron Boone gets real on 'strageic' ABS challenge approach appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The New York Yankees are one win away from clinching their 2025 postseason spot. But before the matchup with the Chicago White Sox , questions were flying about 2026. Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about ABS, the automated balls and strikes system that will be in play in 2026 . What strategy will he deploy when the head taps come in?
"There will be some guys that I will be strategic in pre-shaming, having some conversations in front of people," Boone said when YES Network's Michael Kay asked if there was a player not allowed to use ABS. "We laugh, but that is an important part of this, is how to do it. What are the rules in a particular inning, a particular at-bat, particular counts, things like that?"
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Each team will be allowed only two unsuccessful challenges in a nine-inning game, so they are valuable. Burning one in the first inning could cost a valuable game in a playoff run. The Yankees were at the center of one of the loudest umpire conversations of the year in a September series against the Houston Astros . Boone knows which players he will trust and which he won't come ABS time.
ABS has been a mainstay in the minor leagues for years and was part of spring training in 2025. It was not met with rave reviews from everyone. Walker Buehler, who returned from a minor-league stint with nothing kind to say , for example. The Yankees will want to make the most of their challenges and not waste them with players who do not have a good grasp of the zone.
The Yankees can finish off their rollercoaster 2025 season with a playoff berth if they beat the White Sox on Tuesday. Luis Gil toes the slab in The Bronx as the Southsiders look to avoid a 100-loss season.
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