Highlights
- MLB's commissioner's office issued a memo June 11, 2026, banning custom AI apps on dugout iPads, with the rule taking full effect July 16.
- As many as one-third of MLB teams had been running AI-assisted apps for substitutions, pitch calling, and in-game decisions.
- Teams may still load static pre-game data to iPads; live game data feeding AI models is now prohibited.
- The ban arrived ahead of the second-half restart, with no teams punished because none had violated existing sign-stealing rules.
Major League Baseball has banned the use of artificial intelligence on dugout iPads, a move that lands squarely on the Arizona Diamondbacks and every other club that had been leaning on the tablets for real-time strategic help.
The commissioner's office issued a memo on June 11, 2026, prohibiting custom AI-powered apps on the league-supplied iPads that have been a dugout fixture since 2016. The ban took effect July 16, the day before the All-Star break ended, according to The Athletic. As many as one-third of MLB clubs had installed custom apps on a third iPad tab to generate recommendations on substitutions, pitch calling, and other in-game decisions.
The league's review found no teams had violated existing rules governing sign stealing and electronic-device usage, so no punishments were issued. The distinction the memo draws is between static and live data: teams can still upload pre-game scouting reports and spray charts to the tablets, but any pipeline feeding live game information into an AI model is now off-limits. In-game video on the iPads is also now available only on delay, and non-field personnel are barred from entering the dugout during play.
Why did MLB act now?
The league introduced dugout iPads in 2016 and tightened their use in 2020 following the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. The new memo reflects a second wave of concern: teams had quietly extended the tablets' original purpose by building or licensing AI tools that could process live data and surface actionable recommendations mid-inning, a capability the league decided crossed a line before the second half began.
For the D-backs, who play their home schedule at Chase Field and hold spring training at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, the practical effect is a return to human judgment on the bench for in-game calls. Whether the club was among the one-third using AI-assisted apps has not been disclosed in public records.
The D-backs' second-half schedule is available at mlb.com/dbacks/schedule.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- espn.com retrieved 17/07/2026 19:19
- nytimes.com retrieved 17/07/2026 19:19
- foxnews.com retrieved 17/07/2026 19:19
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 17/07/2026 19:19. Every claim traces to a source.
