MLB bans AI on dugout iPads as teams push tech boundaries for in-game strategic decisions

MLB bans using dugout iPads for AI-powered in-game strategy calls - Engadget

It appears the urge to turn all critical thinking over to AI has not escaped Major League Baseball teams. Regular baseball viewers have become accustomed to seeing players and staff huddled around tablets in the dugout. The expectation is that the devices are used for reviewing performance and maybe crunching last-minute stats, but apparently MLB officials have intervened to prevent teams from using the hardware for running generative AI. League officials have taken the unusual step of making a mid-season policy change to crack down on the use of custom apps that would take over "recommendations regarding substitutions, pitch calling, and other in-game decisions traditionally made by players and coaches." The Athletic reported that the news was delivered via a memo from the commissioner's office on June 11. Sources told the publication as many as a third of teams were using tablets for these unintended purposes, although no clubs will be facing any punishment after an MLB review determined that all organizations were now compliant with the new rules, which took effect yesterday. In-game iPad use was subjected to increased restrictions after a sign-stealing scandal surfaced in 2021. In the intervening years, teams began pushing for more lenience, which the commission is now walking back. "Gotta stop the cheating before there's cheating now," an unnamed front office official told The Athletic. Baseball is heaven for stat nerds, and crunching a lot of data quickly is one of the best uses for AI. Sure, there may be a statistically proven best decision at any given time, but once you throw physical, mental and emotional performance into the mix, the mathematically correct answer may not in fact be the best one. Tech is great as a backup, like with the new ABS system, but using it as a replacement for brains and intuition sounds like a quick way to suck all the joy out of the sport. A game of baseball is not identical to a game of chess, and we shouldn't encourage it to be.

MLB cracks down on using AI via dugout iPads to help shape in-game decisions

In a crackdown that has rankled some front offices across the league, Major League Baseball has effectively outlawed the growing practice of using league-provided dugout iPads to access generative artificial intelligence, which some teams had increasingly leaned upon to help shape in-game strategy. According to a commissioner's office memo obtained by The Athletic, teams were pushing the boundaries of guidelines governing the use of technology by "in many cases" installing custom apps that expanded the use of the iPads "beyond their originally intended purpose to include recommendations regarding substitutions, pitch calling, and other in-game decisions traditionally made by players and coaches." As much as a third of the league used the dugout iPads for at least one of these purposes, according to people with knowledge of the technology who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the issue candidly. The league memo was issued June 11 and gave teams more than a month to adjust before the ban took effect on Wednesday, in time for the start of the season's second half Thursday. The mid-season policy change has been met with frustration by some front-office members tasked with innovation. "It's caused quite the stir," said one high-ranking official of an MLB team's research and development department. But even members of more data-friendly front offices say the trend raised eyebrows within the industry because of how many decisions made by managers and coaches could be aided by or even potentially replaced by technology, such as pitch calling or player substitutions. The sport's competition committee, which includes representatives from both the league office and the players' union, seemed to harbor similar concerns. The committee's review ultimately found "all clubs were compliant" with the league's rules governing sign stealing and electronic-device usage, per MLB's memo. The tech ban therefore did not come with punishment. However, the issue proved urgent enough for the committee to act mid-season in hopes of curbing the growth of these apps. Said one front office executive: "Gotta stop the cheating before there's cheating now." MLB declined comment but referred to the memo, which was issued by the league's executive vice president of baseball operations, Morgan Sword. The union also declined comment. League-provided iPads were first introduced into dugouts league-wide in 2016, though their usage was more tightly regulated in 2021 after sign-stealing scandals rocked the sport. "For the first time, we're going to be allowing players to view live in-game video via an iPad in the dugout or bullpen during the game," former MLB executive Chris Marinak said in March 2021. "The iPads are issued by MLB and fully controlled so that the players can only use the app that we've put on the device. They can't access the internet for browsing or social media or any other kind of functions. The iPads are completely locked down and monitored with the software that we have on there." In-game video has been and remains available but only on a delay, usually only once an inning is completed. Rules posted in every clubhouse also prohibit non-field personnel from coming into the dugout during the game, an effort to limit inputting live information into the iPads. But over time, players and teams have pushed for a loosening of some restrictions surrounding the iPads. Coaches and players wanted the ability to customize what the tablets could do for them, and the league allowed these liberties. Entering this season, the league-issued iPads provided access to data through three tabs, according to a person with knowledge of the system who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be able to speak candidly. The first contained all the MLB-provided Statcast data and multiple video angles. The second tab contained all data related to ABS. The third tab -- known across the league as the "custom tab" -- housed each team's specialized data, akin to information found in old-school, paper-filled binders. Examples include matchup info, defensive positioning and player tendencies, which teams argued were necessities. Going forward, teams can still upload static information, which is data that would be available before first pitch, though clubs were told that anything uploaded would ultimately remain subject to review by MLB. Pitch-calling from the dugout may be at the center of this battle, and is one of the usages the league appears to be targeting. The Athletic canvassed multiple players, general managers, coaches, research and development analysts and other front-office executives with knowledge of dugout iPad usage for their thoughts on the change. They weren't authorized to speak publicly about the league's reasoning for the change or their own teams' use of customizable apps. A consensus emerged: some teams input information from the ongoing game to improve the generative AI models' ability to anticipate the next pitch that would be thrown, or to recommend what should be thrown. Jack Lambert, director of baseball operations at Driveline Baseball, an independent player development operation, said he believed pitch-calling was a logical way teams could leverage the tech. "With someone live-scoring the game, teams could chart pitch type and location to get dynamically updating game plans," Lambert said. "Those plans could determine if their approach at the plate should change as they face the lineup a second, third time in the game, and could also be applied to live pitch-calling." While it's unknown exactly how many teams have used the league-provided iPads for pitch-calling, the practice of calling pitches from the dugout -- rather than delegating that responsibility, as is traditional -- has grown. The Miami Marlins spearheaded the trend of having pitches called from the dugout and other teams have subsequently adopted it, as well. Multiple people briefed on the set-ups said that currently as many as six teams are making "pitch suggestions" from the dugout, as some clubs call them. It's unclear exactly how many teams were using the iPads with live in-game information, because teams are reluctant to talk about their innovations and lose any possible edge. But the league's effort to change what's visible on the tablets suggests the league was concerned. Now, teams seemingly must return to old-fashioned way of running numbers before the game. Fans will still get to blame the human managers for strategic mistakes, at least for now.

Major League Baseball cracks down on iPad use in dugouts. Here's why

Major League Baseball is restricting iPad usage in dugouts to prevent the tablets from running artificial intelligence to help make strategy decisions, and former reliever Adam Ottavino said the New York Mets' use of technology helped prompt the move. The tablets have access to video and league-provided data, and also included a custom tab where teams could access other programs. MLB made the custom tabs inaccessible to teams starting Wednesday night, when the second half of the season started. "In many cases, the custom tab had expanded the use of the dugout iPads beyond their originally intended purpose to include recommendations regarding substitutions, pitch calling, and other in-game decisions traditionally made by players and coaches," MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword wrote in a June 11 memo to general managers, assistant GMs and video coordinators. The memo, first reported by The Athletic, was obtained by The Associated Press. "I read the article and I was like, I can't believe what I'm seeing. Teams are making decisions off of AI? Man, that's just crazy," Yankees captain Aaron Judge said. Ottavino said on his YouTube livestream "Baseball & Coffee" that the Mets had been using AI and cited spending by team owner Steve Cohen on the software. Ottavino pitched for the Mets from 2022-24 and is now a broadcaster on the New York Yankees' YES Network. "The Mets were actually the team, the main team, that got cracked down on," Ottavino said. "They had an AI program that was very expensive apparently and they were bragging about it a little bit early on in this -- the year. Some of the coaches that I know were talking about it from around the league and they had basically an AI program helping them pick pitches and I think some other stuff." "But MLB got wind of it and nipped that right in the bud, so apparently they weren't the only team, but I knew about it from the Mets angle," he said. "They tried to throw some money at the situation. Steve ponied up for -- I think this program from what I heard was several hundred thousand dollars to have." The Mets did not comment when asked whether they had a response. A review by the competition committee found clubs had been compliant with the regulations. "Instituting this prohibition beginning with the second half of the season is intended to provide clubs that have relied on the custom tab with appropriate lead-time to make any necessary adjustments," Sword wrote. Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider called it "a little weird to kind of see the whole report on it, where you can do things kind of in real time that can sway your decision one way or another." "I think the biggest thing is calling pitches and kind of seeing how that can evolve in real time via technology," he said. MLB started a pilot program allowing use of iPads in dugouts with restrictions late in the 2015 season and expanded their use in 2016 under a deal with Apple. Video was eliminated in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season following the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal, then returned in 2021. "It hasn't impacted us at all but I know AI is entering our arena for sure," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "It's entering everyone's arena. You better get on it, or you're going to get rolled over by it."

Mets among teams who used AI loophole with dugout iPads before MLB crackdown

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. 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

MLB cracks down on dugout iPads with artificial intelligence fears growing

MLB is cracking down on artificial intelligence. According to a report by The Athletic on Thursday, the league "has effectively outlawed the growing practice of using league-provided dugout iPads to access generative artificial intelligence, which some teams had increasingly leaned upon to help shape in-game strategy." The Athletic obtained a commissioner's office memo saying teams were pushing boundaries of technology guidelines by installing custom apps that expanded the use of iPads "beyond their originally intended purpose." The memo stated teams were using iPads for recommendations on substitutions, pitch-calling and other in-game decisions usually made by players and coaches. People with knowledge of the technology spoke on the issue candidly and told The Athletic that as much as a third of the league used dugout iPads for one of the aforementioned purposes. The commissioner's memo was issued June 11, giving teams a month to adjust their strategy and decision-making before the ban was put in place Wednesday for the second half of the season. The decision to crack down on iPads has caused frustration by certain front-office members tasked with innovation, with one high-ranking official saying, "It's caused quite the stir." While the tech ban didn't come with punishment, the growing trend of iPad use became urgent enough for the league to make a mid-season decision to halt the growth of the apps. "Gotta stop the cheating before there's cheating now," one front office executive told The Athletic. Even though league iPads have been around since 2016, their usage became more tightly-regulated in 2021 after sign-stealing scandals. "For the first time, we're going to be allowing players to view live in-game video via an iPad in the dugout or bullpen during the game," former league executive Chris Marinak said before the 2021 season. "The iPads are issued by MLB and fully controlled so that the players can only use the app that we've put on the device. "They can't access the internet for browsing or social media or any other kind of functions. The iPads are completely locked down and monitored with the software that we have on there." Though in-game video is still available, it's only around on a delay, typically once an inning ends. Teams and players have pushed for loosened restrictions on iPad use over time, and Jack Lambert, the director of baseball operations at Driveline Baseball, said he thinks pitch-calling is a benefit of the iPads. "With someone live-scoring the game, teams could chart pitch type and location to get dynamically updating game plans," Lambert said. "Those plans could determine if their approach at the plate should change as they face the lineup a second (or) third time in the game, and could also be applied to live pitch-calling."

Green: Mets compliant on AI after report of usage

PHILADELPHIA -- New York Mets interim manager Andy Green said the club is fully compliant with Major League Baseball when asked about a report that singled out his organization for using artificial intelligence for in-game strategy decisions. "Whatever the rules are, we remain fully compliant and Major League Baseball makes those determinations," Green said before Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Former Mets reliever Adam Ottavino said on his YouTube livestream "Baseball & Coffee" that the Mets had been using AI and cited spending by team owner Steve Cohen on the software. Ottavino pitched for the Mets from 2022-24 and is now a broadcaster on the New York Yankees' YES Network. "The Mets were actually the team, the main team, that got cracked down on," Ottavino said. "They had an AI program that was very expensive apparently and they were bragging about it a little bit early on in this - the year. Some of the coaches that I know were talking about it from around the league and they had basically an AI program helping them pick pitches and I think some other stuff." Asked specifically about Ottavino's assertion, Green said: "I don't think it does us any good to talk about what everybody says publicly. From my perspective, what I just said remains true: We remain compliant with everything MLB's asked us to do. And we'll continue to do that." Major League Baseball is restricting iPad usage in dugouts. The tablets have access to video and league-provided data, and also included a custom tab where teams could access other programs. MLB made the custom tabs inaccessible to teams starting Wednesday night, when the second half of the season started. Green deferred to MLB and said he did not have a strong opinion on the issue.

MLB disallowing AI usage on iPads in dugout

NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball is restricting iPad usage in dugouts to prevent the tablets from running artificial intelligence to help make decisions. The tablets have access to video and league-provided data, and also included a custom tab where teams could access other programs. MLB made the custom tabs inaccessible to teams starting Wednesday night, when the second half of the season started. "In many cases, the custom tab had expanded the use of the dugout iPads beyond their originally intended purpose to include recommendations regarding substitutions, pitch calling, and other in-game decisions traditionally made by players and coaches," MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword wrote in a June 11 memo to general managers, assistant GMs and video coordinators. The memo, first reported by The Athletic, was obtained by The Associated Press. A review by the competition committee found clubs had been compliant with the regulations. "Instituting this prohibition beginning with the second half of the season is intended to provide clubs that have relied on the custom tab with appropriate lead-time to make any necessary adjustments," Sword wrote. MLB started a pilot program allowing use of iPads in dugouts with restrictions late in the 2015 season and expanded their use in 2016 under a deal with Apple. Video was eliminated in the 2020 COVID season following the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal, then returned in 2021.