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Add The New York Post on Google The Mets were among the teams found to have exploited a loophole regarding the use of artificial intelligence for in-game decisions during the first half of the season, sources told The Post.
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Try it free Major League Baseball banned the practice beginning Wednesday.
The crackdown was issued in a June 11 memo to teams but wasn’t put in place until the day before the second half of the season began following the All-Star break.
As first reported by The Athletic, MLB found that some teams were using league-issued iPads in the dugout “beyond their originally intended purpose to include recommendations regarding substitutions, pitch calling, and other in-game decisions traditionally made by players and coaches.”
The memo, from MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword and obtained by The Post, was sent to general managers, assistant GMs and video coordinators.
The tablets, which still will be permitted in dugouts, give teams access to league-provided Statcast information, as well as multiple video angles and data related to the automated ball-strike system.
Video accessed during the game in the dugout is only available on delay.
The custom tab allowed teams to access other programs and will no longer be accessible.
The move could impact teams that began calling pitches from the dugout, a trend that has become more widespread this season.
It will no doubt have other impacts as teams throughout the league have relied more heavily on analytics in all aspects of the game.
MLB has permitted the use of iPads in dugouts for over a decade and noted in the memo that a review earlier this year showed that teams were “compliant” with rules regarding sign stealing and electronic device usage, so no penalties were handed out.
Teams were essentially given a month to stop using AI for in-game decision-making purposes “to make any necessary adjustments.”
*— Additional reporting *by Joel Sherman