PHOENIX (AP) — San Francisco Giants rookie Bryce Eldridge was logged at 6-foot-7 “and some change,” he said. That was the measurement for the slugger for the major leagues' Automated Ball-Strike System.
That is one expansive strike zone — but a more defined one, at least.
“I think they told me I’m the tallest guy they’ve measured, position player-wise,” Eldridge said during spring training. “So I got that going for me, at least. So I’ve got the biggest zone, the biggest ABS.”
After years of testing in the minors, the robot-umpire system for reviewing ball/strike calls is going to be used in regular-season games in the majors this year. The abbreviation for the setup is ABS, but the most important letters when it comes to the change just might be S-I-Z-E — relating to the strike zone for some of the game's tallest players.
“I got a lot of respect for the umpires and what they do behind the plate," New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said. "So I can usually pride myself in not showing them up or putting on a show or doing anything like that because they got a tough job back there. So we’ll see. I’ll find the right time to use it. If they’re pretty outrageous calls, I think I'll use it.”
The 6-foot-7 Judge, who won his third AL MVP award last year, sounded more excited about the possibilities for 6-5 teammate Giancarlo Stanton.
“His whole career has been kind of getting screwed over. And also now, this kind of changes everything,” Judge said. “He’s so routine oriented to where you get a bad call, you get a good call, whatever, it’s kind of about flushing to get to the next pitch. Well, now you got 2 seconds to try to make up your mind.”
Strike zones vary depending on a player’s height — starting at 53.5% of a batter’s height for the top and 27% of a batter’s height for the bottom. The top and the bottom of the zone for baseball's biggest giants — a list that also includes 6-7 center fielder Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates and 6-6 left fielder James Wood of the Washington Nationals — have long been two difficult areas for umpires.
But the ABS system provides an opportunity for a closer look.
Each team has the ability to challenge two calls per game. A team retains its challenge if successful, similar to the regulations for video reviews. A team out of challenges for a game tied after nine innings would get one additional challenge in each extra inning.
Only a batter, pitcher or catcher may challenge a call, signaling with the tap of a helmet or cap, and assistance from the dugout is not allowed.
“Specifically with Aaron Judge, I think like his zone I think is higher than most, right? Because he’s taller,” Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly said. “So you might catch one at the knees that feels like a normal strike, but it’s low on him. So I think it’s another aspect of catchers is we’re going to have to understand who’s at the plate, what the zone is like. I mean, if it’s a smaller zone, that ball that might feel like it’s a strike at the top, it’s probably a ball.”
The 21-year-old Eldridge, who got to use ABS in the minors, said he thinks it's great for the game.
“I had a situation last year where we were in the ninth and we were down by two, I want to say, and I struck out looking,” Eldridge said. “I challenged it. It was a ball, and I hit a home run like the next pitch or something to tie it. The game can change just like that with this, so it’s pretty cool.”
AP Baseball Writers Ronald Blum and Janie McCauley contributed.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
San Francisco Giants' Bryce Eldridge smiles as he celebrates his run scored against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning of a spring training baseball game Friday, March 6, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
San Francisco Giants' Bryce Eldridge (8) backs away from an inside pitch caught by Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson during the fifth inning of a spring training baseball game Friday, March 6, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
As American and Israeli strikes pound the Islamic Republic and Iran attacks Persian Gulf shipping and energy infrastructure with no sign of an end to the war, U.S. President Donald Trump posted a new threat to Iran's leaders on his Truth Social website.
“They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them,” Trump wrote. “What a great honor it is to do so!”
Intense strikes hit Tehran and areas surrounding Iran's capital, as Iran continued striking at neighboring Arab Gulf States, helping to drive oil prices back above $100 a barrel.
The first week of war cost the United States $11.3 billion, according to the Pentagon. The U.N. refugee agency says up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced, and authorities in Lebanon say 800,000 have been forced from their homes as Israel’s military destroys buildings linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
More than 600 have been killed in Lebanon, as well as more than 1,300 in Iran and a dozen in Israel. At least seven U.S. soldiers have died during the fighting.
Here is the latest:
Israel’s military issued a warning Friday morning that Iranian missiles were inbound to the country, with air defenses actively targeting the fire.
U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new threat online to Iran, writing: “Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today.”
Trump made the post Friday on his Truth Social website, saying that “Iran’s Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth.”
“They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them,” Trump wrote. “What a great honor it is to do so!”
A missile alert sounded on mobile phones in Dubai on Friday morning as authorities said air defenses were targeting incoming Iranian fire.
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said early Friday that its air defenses downed 10 more drones headed toward the kingdom’s Eastern and Central Provinces, bringing the total to nearly 50 drones entering Saudi airspace over the span of a few hours.
The barrage represents a higher-than-usual number of aerial threats for the kingdom, which has seen sites including the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, oil infrastructure, and a military base hosting U.S. troops targeted as the war involving Iran has intensified.
Thick black smoke rose over Dubai’s skyline early Friday after what authorities described as a fire in an industrial area of the city-state.
An Associated Press journalist saw the fire in Dubai’s Al Quoz neighborhood. Bystanders gathered to watch the smoke from the blaze.
Police stopped an AP journalist from going closer to the site of the blaze, which was in a cul de sac.
The Dubai Media Office, which issues statements for its government, said “debris from a successful interception caused a minor incident on the façade of a building in central Dubai.” It said there had been no injuries, though the black smoke curled over the skyline as far as the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab luxury hotel.
An Israeli strike early Friday hit a car in Jnah, a coastal neighborhood in southwestern Beirut, and killed one person, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Separately, an Israeli strike hit an apartment in the Nabaa neighborhood, leaving it engulfed in flames, local media reported. Nabaa, on Beirut’s northern outskirts within the densely populated Burj Hammoud district, is home to a sizable Armenian community. No casualties were immediately reported.
It was the first time such an area has been struck in this conflict or during the 2024 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Following the strikes, the Israeli army said it had targeted a Hezbollah member in Beirut. Both neighborhoods are far from the southern suburbs of Beirut, which the Israeli military has declared unsafe and issued evacuation notices for.
Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said some 58 people were hurt in a missile attack on Zarzir, a city around 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Jerusalem near the border with Lebanon. The service said one person was in moderate condition and 57 sustained very minor injuries from glass shards.
Footage shared by the ambulance service from the impact site showed damaged cars and scattered debris.
The Israeli military said it was operating with emergency services at the scene to clear debris.
Hezbollah said early Friday that it had fired several rocket salvos toward northern Israel and Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
The attack targeted Irbil in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region, President Emmanuel Macron said Friday on the social platform X.
Macron identified the soldier as Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion of the 7th Battalion of Chasseurs Alpins from Varces.
“To his family, to his brothers in arms, I want to express all the affection and solidarity of the nation,” Macron said. “Several of our soldiers have been wounded. France stands by their side and with their loved ones.”
France said earlier that six soldiers were hurt in a drone attack in Irbil. French troops are in Iraq as part of a multinational counterterrorism mission supporting local forces in their fight against Islamic State militants.
Empty courtyards of the Al-Aqsa compound are seen while Palestinian Muslims offer Friday Ramadan prayers take place in Jerusalem as the Old City remains closed to visitors under nationwide Home Front Command restrictions banning large gatherings amid the war with Iran, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Family members ride in a damaged car, as they flee the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment building in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Missiles launched from Iran are seen in the sky over central Israel, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble after a strike in southern Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Sajjad Safari)
Shia Muslims protesting against the United States and Israel and expressing solidarity with Iran and Palestinians in Gaza, shout slogans during the annual Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day rally, in Magam, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
People inspect the site of a destroyed branch of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a non-bank financial institution run by Hezbollah, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Israeli authorities inspect homes damaged by a projectile launched from Lebanon, in Haniel, central Israel, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Residents watch as smoke rises from a nearby building during an Israeli strike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Relatives grieve in Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, March 12, 2026, during a funeral for members of the Popular Mobilization Forces who were killed in a U.S. airstrike in Qaim. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
An oil tanker burns after being hit by an Iranian strike in the ship-to-ship transfer zone at Khor al-Zubair port near Basra, Iraq, late Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo)
A woman gathers belongings from her family's home after it was damaged by a projectile launched from Lebanon, in Haniel, central Israel, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Workers inspect damage caused by a drone strike overnight at the Address Creek Harbour hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
A woman sits on rubble across from a residential building damaged last Sunday during the U.S.-Israeli air campaign in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
