Major League Baseball opened the 2026 season with a technological first: the Automated Ball-Strike or ABS Challenge System, powered by T-Mobile’s private 5G network, is now deployed across all 29 U.S. ballparks. While headlines focus on umpire challenges and strike zones, the real story for information technology professionals lies beneath the surface — in the network infrastructure that enables split-second decisions in environments where failure simply isn’t an option.
Major League Baseball kicked off a Virtual Ballpark experience for a Sept. 20 game between the Angels and Rays that uses startling 3D graphics to depict baseball games in real time.
Built in partnership with British metaverse company Improbable, it’s not without its early bugs, since the Virtual Ballpark UI was a little choppy. But like anything new, the experience should get better over time.
The Boston Red Sox, one of the iconic names in the world of baseball, is reinventing the fan experience. In an age of data-driven decisions and personalized outreach, the Major League Baseball team is tapping into generative artificial intelligence to revolutionize its marketing campaigns.