Jazz Chisholm Jr. had one of the better individual nights of his 2026 season Friday at Daikin Park. Three hits. Four RBIs. A home run in back-to-back games for the first time all year. The New York Yankees were dismantling the Houston Astros 12-4 and cruising into the ninth inning of their seventh consecutive win. And then it happened.
Chisholm stepped out of the batter’s box on a 3-2 pitch from Bryan Abreu, pointed at the plate, and requested an ABS review with seemingly absolute certainty. Seconds later, the results came in. The pitch had crossed the plate dead center. The automated ball-strike system confirmed the strike without doubt.
The crowd at Daikin Park booed. The YES Network booth pounced. Broadcaster Michael Kay did not hesitate.
“Right down the middle,” Kay said on the air. “And the crowd mocks him with boos.”
David Cone twisted the knife.
“That’s the beauty of the challenge system, you get humbled,” he said. “That’s right down the middle.”
Kay had the closing line.
“Maybe he was hoping for a computer malfunction.”
The clip spread fast. Chisholm, entering the night at 1-for-5 on ABS challenges this season, dropped to 1-for-6 on the play.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s ABS Challenge Record
The ABS system, which debuted in major league spring training games in 2025 before coming to the regular season this year, allows batters, pitchers, and catchers to contest a home plate umpire’s ball-strike call using a high-tech pitch-tracking system. Each team begins with two challenges per game.
Chisholm is not alone in struggling with the technology. Shortstop José Caballero entered Friday tied for the major league lead with five successful challenges, but also carrying five failed ones, the second-most unsuccessful challenges among Yankees regulars. That 50% rate has drawn its own scrutiny, according to New York Post reporter Greg Joyce.
Manager Aaron Boone confirmed he has had direct conversations with Caballero about his challenge decisions. His description left little ambiguity about the tone.
“Firm,” Boone said with a grin. “Quite firm.”
Boone added it was possible he could reach a point where he would restrict a player from challenging altogether — but one month into the ABS era, no one on the roster has crossed that line yet.
Chisholm almost certainly moved closer to it Friday night.
@pitchingninja Check out the call that Jazz Chisholm challenged 🤣. His reaction is the best. #baseball #pitching #mlb #pitchingninja
Chisholm Fines Himself $1,000 After ABS Embarrassment
After the game, Chisholm faced the question directly and did not duck it. He laughed, owned the moment, and explained that the Yankees’ internal Kangaroo Court had already delivered its verdict, with himself as the judge.
“You just gotta laugh, at that point,” Chisholm said, as quoted by the Post. “We were winning, it’s a kid’s game. You got to laugh at some things. Sometimes you just got to laugh at yourself and walk off. Did get fined $1,000, but it’s OK.” He added: “I put that as myself fining myself. I got to do something for the team worth at least $1,000 after that.”
It was his second self-imposed Kangaroo Court fine of the season. The bat, at least, was not the problem Friday. Chisholm went 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs, and three runs scored. He hit a 393-foot shot off Lance McCullers Jr. in the fourth inning at 106.5 mph exit velocity, drove in two with a single in the first, and added another RBI single in the seventh.
New York improved to 17-9 on the season. Chisholm is batting .213 on the year with eight stolen bases in 25 games. But the ABS system got the last word Friday night.
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