The Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA President, Yang Hae-young) has been implementing an automatic ball strike (ABS) system in national high school baseball tournaments since 2023 to prevent admission corruption and match-fixing, strengthen the fairness of games, and minimize controversies over umpire decisions.
The association applied the automatic ball strike system from this year's 2025 Shinsegae Emart Cup National High School Baseball Tournament starting from the round of 16 held at Mokdong Baseball Stadium. For the first time in operating this system, the automatic ball strike system was also introduced at Shinwol Baseball Stadium, and it is anticipated that this system will be expanded for major national high school baseball tournaments, including the Huanggong Lion Cup National High School Baseball Tournament, the President’s Cup National High School Baseball Tournament, and the Bonghwang Cup National High School Baseball Tournament, which will begin on May 3. This will help ensure fairness and consistency in decision-making.
In addition, tablet devices that allow real-time confirmation of pitching judgment results are provided in both teams' dugouts. Through this, players and coaches can immediately verify pitching results during the game, enhancing their understanding of ball and strike calls, and this will help prevent unnecessary controversies regarding the operation of the system and umpire decisions.
Korea Baseball Softball Association President Yang Hae-young said, “Through the expanded introduction of this automatic ball strike system, we will continue to work to create a fair playing environment to prevent admission corruption and match-fixing, allowing young players to focus more on the game.” He noted, “The introduction of the automatic ball strike system at Shinwol Baseball Stadium, used as a secondary field in this national high school baseball tournament, and the installation of tablets in the dugout will be a new turning point for high school baseball.”
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