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July 5, 2026. Cumberland, Georgia, USA. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, 12, reacts with his teammates in the dugout after scoring in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Trust Park.
of new york mets that may be the reason major league baseball recently had to intervene and ban the use of A.I. in the dugout, according to former Mets reliever Adam Ottavino.
The league announced Thursday that it has banned many teams from using generated AI on dugout tablets beyond its original intent.
Report from The Athletic The MLB Commissioner’s Office said it determined that “in many cases” teams installed custom apps to modify the use of dugout iPads, “beyond their original purpose of including recommendations regarding substitutions, pitch calls, and other in-game decisions traditionally made by players and coaches.”
Regarding the decision, one front office executive said, “We have to stop cheating before it becomes rampant.”
But what exactly is It was What about cheating?
Adam Ottavino says New York Mets used generative AI to predict pitching
Ottavino, whose 15-year major league career included three years with the Mets from 2022 to 2024, recently claimed that his team paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for AI software that helps predict pitches in the dugout during games.
“The Mets were the main team that got busted. They had a very expensive AI program, but they were bragging about it a little bit earlier this year.” Ottavino said. “Some of the coaches I know were talking about it league-wide.
“They basically had an AI program to help them select pitches, and I think there were other things as well. But MLB sensed that and nipped it in the bud.”
Batters? pitcher? both? Hundreds of thousands of dollars for AI in the dugout?????Meet the Mets! https://t.co/L7SgX4AKHL pic.twitter.com/WpNriyB51y
— Lazy Mary (@Verd25) July 17, 2026
Ottavino said the Mets are not only They were the technology team, but they were the primary users.
If Ottavino’s statement is true, it would be a pretty bad situation for the Mets’ offense, which has been among the worst in the league this season. In fact, New York ranks only 25th in the league in goals allowed per game at 4.10.
If they’re having such a hard time with the technology of knowing what pitches are coming, it’ll be interesting to see how Mets hitters view the rest of the game without AI.
