METS USED EXPENSIVE AI PROGRAMME FOR PITCH SELECTION, OTTAVINO SAYS

Adam Ottavino, a veteran associated with the New York Mets, stated that the franchise deployed an artificial intelligence programme to assist with pitch selection during games. According to Ottavino's account, Major League Baseball discovered the system and took action to halt its use. Ottavino indicated that the Mets were the primary target of the league's enforcement action, though he suggested other teams may have used similar technology.

Ottavino said the Mets' AI programme was expensive, with reports suggesting it cost several hundred thousand dollars. He stated that coaches from other clubs were aware of the system early in the season and discussed it amongst themselves. Ottavino indicated the technology assisted with pitch-calling and potentially other in-game functions. He added that Mets ownership responded to MLB's intervention by attempting to resolve the matter through financial means.

MLB introduced iPad usage in clubhouses approximately a decade ago to increase teams' access to data and video analysis. The league has continued to embrace technological advancement, including the introduction of an Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System at the start of the current season. Ottavino's disclosure indicates that regulatory oversight of technology use in professional baseball remains an evolving area, with the league responding to uses of AI it determined fell outside permissible parameters.