sports
MLB disables custom tabs on dugout iPads to limit AI assistance
Major League Baseball disabled custom tabs on dugout iPads at the start of the second half of the 2026 season. The move prevents teams from using artificial intelligence for in-game decisions such as substitutions and pitch calling.
Jul 17, 6:44 PM·1m read1 source
alternet.orgAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
Major League Baseball disabled custom tabs on dugout iPads starting Wednesday night, when the second half of the 2026 season began. The restriction aims to stop the tablets from running artificial intelligence that could assist with in-game decisions.
MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword wrote in a June 11 memo that the custom tab had expanded beyond its original purpose in many cases.
The tab had begun providing recommendations on substitutions, pitch calling and other decisions traditionally handled by players and coaches. The memo was first reported by The Athletic and obtained by The Associated Press. A review by the competition committee found that clubs had complied with existing regulations.
Sword stated that the prohibition beginning with the second half of the season would give teams that relied on the custom tab time to adjust. MLB introduced a pilot program for restricted iPad use in dugouts late in the 2015 season and expanded access in 2016 through a deal with Apple.
Video was removed from the tablets during the 2020 COVID season after the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and restored in 2021.
The tablets continue to provide video and league data without the custom tab.
