Major League Baseball has shut off a feature on dugout iPads that teams had been using to run outside programs, including tools that offered in-game recommendations on substitutions and pitch calling. The change took effect Wednesday night, the start of the season’s second half, and applies league wide.
The dugout tablets have long given teams access to video and league-provided data, but a custom tab had allowed clubs to layer in additional software beyond that original scope. MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword addressed the shift in a June 11 memo to general managers, assistant GMs and video coordinators, first reported by The Athletic, saying the custom tab had expanded dugout iPad use well past its original purpose. A review by the league’s competition committee found clubs had been following the existing rules, but MLB opted to close the loophole anyway, giving teams time between the June 11 memo and the start of the second half to adjust.
The revelation has drawn some reactions from around the league. Yankees captain Aaron Judge didn’t hide his surprise, saying, “Teams are making decisions off of AI? Man, that’s just crazy.”
Former pitcher Adam Ottavino, now a broadcaster after a career that included a stint with the Mets, said on his podcast that New York had been among the teams using the technology, citing owner Steve Cohen’s investment in the software.
The move is the latest chapter in a long-running back-and-forth between MLB and in-game technology. The league first allowed limited iPad use in dugouts late in the 2015 season, expanded it the following year through a partnership with Apple, then pulled video access entirely for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season in the aftermath of the sign-stealing scandal that enveloped the Astros organization. Video returned in 2021 with the restrictions MLB has maintained since.
While it’s not yet clear how much this affects Houston specifically, the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal prompted MLB to suspend dugout video access entirely during the 2020 season. That history makes any new restrictions on in-game technology worth watching as the second half begins.
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