MLB Reportedly Outlaws Use of Dugout iPads to Access AI for In-Game Strategy

MLB reportedly took a step to stop artificial intelligence from aiding teams during games.

According to Eno Sarris of The Athletic, 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 ban reportedly went into effect on Wednesday ahead of the start of the second half of the 2026 season.

Sarris reported that teams received a commissioner's office memo on June 11 informing them that using AI by installing custom apps pushed 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." People with knowledge of the technology told Sarris that as much as "a third of the league used the dugout iPads for at least one of these purposes."

While banning the use of AI should level the playing field, Sarris noted that the decision "has been met with frustration by some front-office members tasked with innovation."

"It's caused quite the stir," one high-ranking official of an MLB team's research and development department said.

Still, it's been a known issue that AI has the potential to influence in-game decisions like pitch calling or player substitutions. Pitch calling, in particular, has become a point of contention, as Sarris found that "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."

"Gotta stop the cheating before there's cheating now," one front office executive said.