*This content was translated by AI.
“ABS has had a positive impact.”
A survey found that the majority of KBO League fans support the implementation of the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS). As ABS enters its third year since introduction, some players continue to voice dissatisfaction, but it has been confirmed that fans hold a different view, drawing attention.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) shared partial results from a survey conducted on 4,000 men and women aged 15 and older among on-site spectators between May 30 and July 5 this year, while analyzing the factors behind setting a new record for the highest single-season attendance in KBO League history (12.362 million).
According to the survey, 76.7% of respondents stated that changes and the establishment of league operating systems, such as ABS, the pitch clock, and check-swing video review, had a positive impact on encouraging game attendance. The proportion of respondents who said each system positively impacted league operations was highest for check-swing video review (70.6%), followed by ABS (70.4%), improvements to the video review system and the introduction of wireless intercoms (70.0%), and the pitch clock (66.4%).
The KBO assessed that “such systems enhancing fairness and shortening game time are interpreted as having a positive effect on encouraging attendance.”
This season, several players, primarily batters, also publicly raised issues regarding ABS. They claimed that the strike zone changes depending on environmental factors such as the stadium, or even daily or per at-bat. The KBO announced that tests on the tracking location accuracy of ABS in each stadium found no significant errors, but it failed to fully resolve some players’ complaints.
However, the opinion that the benefits of introducing ABS, such as a significant improvement in the fairness of game operations, outweigh the drawbacks is gaining more persuasiveness, similar to the fan survey results. Compared to manual calls by umpires in the past, consistency has increased, and emotional confrontations between players and umpires over strike-ball calls have completely disappeared, contributing to shortened game times and “clean baseball.”
A batter representing the KBO League said, “I do not let ABS shake me. I create my own strike zone and think of it as the ‘ABS zone’ when I step into the batter’s box.”
The claim that “the strike zone is relatively wide, which could cause confusion in international tournaments” has also been proven to be not a major issue in practice. The national baseball team, which was eliminated in the first round for three consecutive years at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2009, 2013, and 2017, advanced to the quarterfinals in this year’s tournament after ABS was introduced, and recently won its fifth consecutive gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Meanwhile, the 2026 KBO League surpassed last year’s previous record attendance of 12.312519 million with 699 games in the season. The KBO cited the following factors for its popularity: ▲ good performance in international tournaments and the activities of young stars, ▲ increased weekday (Tuesday to Thursday) attendance, ▲ the release of various collaborative products, and ▲ online video content.
The KBO stated, “When we signed the broadcast rights contract in 2024, we allowed fans to produce online video content using game scenes.” It added, “In this survey, 87.0% of respondents answered that they had experience watching secondary processed game videos, and the content watched (multiple responses) was ‘Highlight edits’ (50.8%), ‘Humor/interesting videos’ (34.2%), and ‘Fan-made videos’ (32.3%).”
It further explained, “Among respondents who watched secondary processed content before actively visiting baseball stadiums to watch games in person, 67.2% answered that watching the videos influenced their decision to visit the stadium. This proportion was relatively higher among those in their 20s (72.3%) and women (69.1%), indicating that online video content contributed to attracting younger demographics and female fans to baseball stadiums.”
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*This content was translated by AI.
