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Robot umpires are getting called up to the big leagues next season. Major League Baseball’s 11-man competition committee on Tuesday approved use of the Automated Ball/Strike System in the major leagues in 2026. Human plate umpires will still call balls and strikes, but teams can challenge two calls per game and get additional appeals in extra innings. Challenges must be made by a pitcher, catcher, or batter signaled by tapping their helmet or cap and a team retains its challenge if successful. Reviews will be shown as digital graphics on outfield videoboards. Adding the robot umps is likely to cut down on ejections. MLB said 61.5% of ejections among players, managers, and coaches last year were related to balls and strikes, as were 60.3% this season through Sunday. The figures include ejections for derogatory comments, throwing equipment while protesting calls and inappropriate conduct. Big league umpires call roughly 94% of pitches correctly, according to UmpScorecards. Throughout this process we have worked on deploying the system in a way thats acceptable to players, Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. The strong preference from players for the challenge format over using the technology to call every pitch was a key factor in determining the system we are announcing today. ABS, which utilizes Hawk-Eye cameras, has been tested in the minor leagues since 2019. The independent Atlantic League trialed the system at its 2019 All-Star Game and MLB installed the technology for thats year Arizona Fall League of top prospects. The ABS was tried at eight of nine ballparks of the Low-A Southeast League in 2021, then moved up to Triple-A in 2022. At Triple-A at the start of the 2023 season, half the games used the robots for ball/strike calls and half had a human making decisions subject to appeals by teams to the ABS. MLB switched Triple-A to an all-challenge system on June 26, 2024, then used the challenge system this year at 13 spring training ballparks hosting 19 teams for a total of 288 exhibition games. Teams won 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges (617 of 1,182) challenges. At Triple-A this season, the average challenges per game increased to 4.2 from 3.9 through Sunday and the success rate dropped to 49.5% from 50.6%. Defenses were successful in 53.7% of challenges this year and offenses in 45%. In the first test at the big League All-Star Game, four of five challenges of plate umpire Dan Iassognas calls were successful in July. Teams in Triple-A do not get additional challenges in extra innings. The proposal approved Tuesday included a provision granting teams one additional challenge each inning if they don’t have challenges remaining. MLB has experimented with different shapes and interpretations of the strike zone with ABS, including versions that were three-dimensional. Currently, it calls strikes solely based on where the ball crosses the midpoint of the plate, 8.5 inches from the front and the back. The top of the strike zone is 53.5% of batter height and the bottom 27%. This will be MLB’s first major rule change since sweeping adjustments in 2024. Those included a pitch clock, restrictions on defensive shifts, pitcher disengagements such as pickoff attempts, and larger bases. The challenge system introduces ABS without eliminating pitch framing, a subtle art where catchers use their body and glove to try making borderline pitches look like strikes. Framing has become a critical skill for big league catchers, and there was concern that full-blown ABS would make some strong defensive catchers obsolete. Not that everyone loves it. The idea that people get paid for cheating, for stealing strikes, for moving a pitch thats not a strike into the zone to fool the official and make it a strike is beyond my comprehension, former manager Bobby Valentine said. Texas manager Bruce Bochy, a big league catcher from 1978-87, maintained old-school umpires such as Bruce Froemming and Billy Williams never would have accepted pitch framing. He said they would have told him: ’If you do that again, youll never get a strike.’ Im cutting out some words. Management officials on the competition committee include Seattle chairman John Stanton, St. Louis CEO Bill DeWitt Jr., San Francisco chairman Greg Johnson, Colorado CEO Dick Monfort, Toronto CEO Mark Shapiro and Boston chairman Tom Werner. Players include Arizona’s Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen, Detroit’s Casey Mize, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh, and the New York Yankees’ Austin Slater, with the Chicago Cubs’ Ian Happ at Detroit’s Casey Mize as alternates. The union representatives make their decisions based on input from players on the 30 teams. Ronald Blum, AP baseball writer Bill Miller is the umpire representative.
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E-Commerce
Tariffs and years of teetering mall traffic have roiled much of the toy industry. But Build-A-Bear investors are continuing to reap sizeable gains. Shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop are up more than 60% since the start of 2025, trading at just under $72 apiece as of Tuesday afternoon. That compares to just 13% for the S&P 500 since the start of the year, and marks dramatic growth from five years ago, when the St. Louis-based retailer’s stock sat under $3. The toy industry overall has been reasonably soft in recent years, notes Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData but certain categories, including craft-oriented products, have done very well following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. And that’s key to Build-A-Bear’s core business model: welcoming consumers into their brick-and-mortar stores to make their own plush animals. That may also set Build-A-Bear apart from the malls its stores are often inside, many of which have struggled to see overall traffic rebound over the years. The mall may not be a destination, but Build-A-Bear often is because its often a planned trip,” Saunders said. Its a store within a mall that many consumers make a beeline for. Build-A-Bear is still not isnt entirely immune to macroeconomic pressures, but the company’s profit has soared to record after record in recent quarters. Last month, the retailer reported what it said were the best results for a second quarter and first half of a fiscal year in the history of the Build-A-Bear, which opened its first store in 1997. Company executives pointed to strong store performance and other expansion efforts. In the first half of its 2025 fiscal year, the companys revenues hit $252.6 million and its pre-tax income climbed to $34.9 million up 11.5% and 31.5%, respectively, year-over-year. The company also raised its financial outlook for the full year, despite anticipated costs of President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on goods coming into the U.S. from around the world and other headwinds. Tariffs are a real cost that we are facing, Voin Todorovic, chief financial officer at Build-A-Bear, said in the company’s Aug. 28 earnings call pointing to current U.S. import tax rates of 30% on China and 20% on Vietnam, where the retailer sources much of its products. Some of that has already trickled down to the cost of Build-A-Bear’s merchandise in North America, but Todorovic noted that such levies would impact the company “even more in the second half of the year. Still, he and other executives pointed to preparations Build-A-Bear had made to lessen the blow, including previous inventory increases. The company also maintained that consumer-facing price impacts would be limited. While the retailer offers some ready-made toys and toy clothing, “what Build-A-Bear generally buys is materials, Saunders noted. This can hedge against tariffs much more effectively,” he explained, as they reduce labor costs and potentially allow for more flexibility on sourcing. Still, Saunders notes that everyone is going to be affected by tariffs and Build-A-Bear isn’t an exception. He adds that consumers will probably eat that extra cost because they’re paying for the entertainment value.” Barring any significant changes, Todorovic said in August’s earnings call that tariffs are anticipated to cost Build-A-Bear under $11 million for the 2025 fiscal year. But despite that and other costs, he noted that the company is still on track to approach or slightly beat last year’s earnings. The company’s latest guidance expects its pre-tax income to reach between $62 million to $70 million for the full 2025 fiscal year, compared to just over $67 million reported in 2024. Wyatte Grantham-Philips, AP business writer
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E-Commerce
Brand partnerships used to mean a co-branded sneaker drop or a limited-edition snack flavor. Now, theyre getting strangerand more viral. Soda-and-cookie mash-ups, beer-infused soups, and hot honey beans have all hit store shelves in recent months, sparking a mix of curiosity, confusion, and clicks. At first glance, these collaborations might feel like stunts with little connection between the products. But marketing experts and brand leaders argue they serve a bigger purpose: keeping legacy names relevant in a crowded, attention-driven marketplace. While no one asked for these collaborations, the weirder they are, the faster they go viral. This year, unexpected pairings are filling up social media and grocery store aisles. But as more and more brands play matchmaker, it’s clear that this is more than about a product that doesn’t make sense. “It’s less about getting audiences to try the collaboration, and more about reminding them to reach for the original thing,” says Grace Murray Vazquez, executive vice president of strategy at the influencer marketing company Fohr. “It’s ultimately not just bizarre; it is like a calculated unexpectedness.” More than a product When Coca-Cola paired with Oreos or Pabst Blue Ribbon worked with Campbells Chunky on beer-infused soups, the goal wasnt just novelty. Executives say quality still matters, even in the quirkiest launches. First and foremost, we wanted to make sure its going to taste good, since it has our logo on it, says Rachel Keeton, senior brand director at PBR. While more and more brands seem to be tapping into the bizarre, for legacy brands, it’s still important to preserve quality in tasteno matter how strange the taste may be. “It is not about the product per se, but companies still have to adhere to quality, Keeton adds. Shared heritage also plays a role. Both Campbells and PBR, for example, have long histories as American pantry staples. That alignment gives even unexpected products a sense of cohesion. Theres just a really natural connection between the two brands, Keeton adds. Still, despite similarities, brands aim to surprise the audience by finding a somewhat unexpected or bizarre factor, whether it be the product itself or the collaboration. Oreos and Coca-Colas audiences have a lot in common, but ultimately they’re big enough brands that the combination of them is the thing that is the unexpected, Vazquez says. Additionally, beyond product sales, the consumers reactionswhich often take over social media or make headlinesprove to be an invaluable strategy. It’s almost like low-stakes rage bait that incites this response from audiences. Like, Why would you ruin a good thing? Vazquez adds. But for it to be truly successful, it needs to have legs beyond the moment of just fast noise. Fighting for relevance For newer entrants, a viral collab can drive discovery. For legacy brands, its about clawing back cultural cachet from buzzy competitors. Even giants like Coca-Cola and Oreo risk fading into the background as startups such as Poppi capture younger consumers attention. Thats why shock becomes a feature, not a bug. A wild collaboration can stop the scroll and spark conversation. @snackolator I did not think the OREO cookies could nail the Coca-Cola taste, but they did… this is a great collab and I think the Coke Zero dessert line could be a thing. Huge thanks to @OREO for sharing an early sample – the cookies are just so much fun! #oreo #oreos #cocacola #coke #cokezero #mukbang #foodreview #foodtok #cookies #cookiereview original sound – snackolator “In this inner landscape where things are as noisy as they currently are, unexpected has overtaken authenticity as the thing that brands are asking for and going for,” Vazquez says. For new brands, a viral hit might mean reaching the eyes of new consumers, yet legacy brands are also tapping into the strategy, primarily to gain back cultural relevance. They’ve lost some of that ability to be top of mind for people, Vazquez says. Shock immediately throws the audience off guard. So it is again an attempt to fix an attention deficit, she adds. For it to actually be effective for brands, it needs to incite that reaction in the short term, and then it needs to be sustained long term by true advocacy and not just attention. And while effective, the strategy, like most things, has an expiration date, and audiences are catching up to the shock factorlike with ads made to incite a strong reaction, such as Skimss facial shapewear and Sydney Sweeneys American Eagle jeans campaign. We should expect to see them for at least another six months, but consumers will start to fatigue, Vazquez says. “Consumers are smarter than ever. And once they start to register the pattern and the conversation turns to a place where people are saying, ‘hang on a minute’maybe the whole point of this is to just get us talking. Then it becomes expected, and it doesnt hit anymore.”
Category:
E-Commerce
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