MLB Bars AI Assistants From Dugouts as Up to One-Third of Clubs Test Them

Q: Why did MLB disable custom dugout iPad tools after teams reportedly used AI for live strategy during games?

MLB disabled the custom dugout iPad tools to stop teams from using AI for real-time game management and to draw a clear line between approved data access and live machine-assisted decision-making. League officials found that clubs were using the “custom tab” on MLB-issued iPads for functions beyond their intended purpose, including pitch-calling, substitutions and other in-game strategy. Reports indicated that as many as one-third of teams were testing or using such systems, with the Mets becoming the most prominent example after claims they had developed an expensive AI tool to help select pitches. MLB’s review did not find violations of existing sign-stealing or electronic-device rules, so it did not punish teams. Instead, it acted midseason as a preventive measure because the practice was spreading quickly and risked changing how games were managed. As one industry executive put it, the league wanted to stop “cheating before there’s cheating.” By shutting off the custom tab after the All-Star break, MLB preserved approved dugout iPad uses such as Statcast data, delayed video and Automated Ball-Strike information, while blocking tools that could ingest live game data and generate recommendations in real time. The move was meant to keep strategic decisions primarily in the hands of players and coaches, not AI systems.

3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 26

Major League Baseball resumed play after the All-Star break with a new ban on clubs using AI assistants in the dugout for in-game decisions.
Reports that the New York Mets spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a custom AI tool to guide pitch selection helped show the technology was already in use, not hypothetical.
The Athletic said as many as one-third of MLB teams have been pursuing an in-game AI edge, suggesting the restriction targets a widening competitive practice across the league.
The move marks MLB's first clear line against live dugout AI use as teams push more analytics and automation into on-field decision-making.