San Francisco — New York’s José Caballero thought for sure the pitch from Logan Webb had missed the strike zone, so he challenged the human umpire’s call – and made major league history in the process.

Caballero lost the first challenge taken to Major League Baseball’s so-called robot umpire, unsuccessfully appealing a strike by the San Francisco Giants right-hander in Wednesday night’s season opener that the Yankees won, 7-0.

Caballero didn’t hesitate. “Nope, I wanted to go for it,” he said.

Webb started the fourth inning with a 90.7 mph sinker on the upper, inner corner that was called a strike by Bill Miller, a major league umpire since 1997. Caballero tapped his helmet, and the 12 Hawk-Eye cameras of the Automated Ball-Strike System upheld Miller’s decision in a graphic shown on the Oracle Park scoreboard.

“I thought it was a little higher that what it showed,” Caballero said.

“I think it’s really good, keep everyone accountable,” he added. “It gives us a chance to really see how good (we are) with the zone or not. I wish it was the other way around, I’m trying to get the overturn call but this time I didn’t.”

New York was ahead 5-0 at the time. Caballero drove in the first run with an RBI single in a five-run second inning against Webb, who recorded his 1,000th career strikeout in the fourth.

The automated system had been tested in the minor leagues since 2019 and was used during major league spring training in 2025 and ’26. Some managers have said they will still find ways to argue and get ejected.

CBSSports.com’s Mike Axisa pointed out that, “Funny enough, the next pitch was a called strike that looked even more egregiously out of the zone. Caballero did not challenge that one, though. He wasn’t going to burn New York’s two challenges on back-to-back pitches. There’s plenty of strategy with these challenges. Teams won’t just challenge anything they think went against them. The game situation is important.”

Before Wednesday’s game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke in support of ABS and the importance of discussing decisions on challenges with his team ahead of time. He stressed that this will be a learning process for everybody involved.

“I’ve tried to be real direct with them and why,” he said. “I feel like we’re going to be good at it, that’s the expectation. I’m sure we’ll continue to evolve with it.”

New San Francisco skipper Tony Vitello, who came to the Giants from the University of Tennessee with no professional experience as a player or coach, said he had to remind himself earlier Wednesday that the robots might take over at times.

“‘I’ve got to be honest with you, one thing I was looking at is who are the umpires tonight?” he said. “You get on Google (and) the first thing you see is there’s going to be a robot umpire. And it was only for a millisecond but I kind of freaked out.”

Posts on Pakistani social media have shared an article purportedly from an Urdu newspaper claiming that, due to the presence of “non journalists” in the media, the government has announced that it will conduct examinations for journalists.

This claim is baseless. No such announcement has been made by the government.

Claim

On March 23, a user shared an alleged image of a newspaper on X, formerly known as Twitter, claiming that due to the presence of non journalists, the government has announced a three phase examination process for journalists in the country.

According to the claim, the first phase includes tests of a prospective journalist’s Urdu grammar, dictation and essay writing. The second phase covers the basic components of journalism, such as news writing and report writing. The third phase focuses on investigative journalism and psychological awareness.

At the time of writing, the post had been viewed 14,900 times, liked 475 times and reshared 124 times.

Identical claims have also been shared on Instagram and Facebook too.

Fact

No such policy regarding testing reporters has been introduced by the government, officials and journalists confirmed.

Tasawar Arafat Chaudhry, media coordinator to the federal minister for information and broadcasting, denied the claim. “Neither the ministry of information nor the PID [Press Information Department] has issued any such statement, nor is there any such programme,” he said. “We strongly reject and deny it.”

Azma Zahid Bokhari, the Punjab minister for information, also told Geo Fact Check via messages that the claim is not true.

Abdul Razzaq Sial, president of the Islamabad Press Club, told Geo Fact Check over the phone that the online claims were false. “This is 100% fake,” he said. “If you look at the headline, it is not even in a newspaper format. Someone has made it up; it is fabricated.”

Arshad Ansari, president of the Lahore Press Club, also confirmed that the online posts were not true. “I have checked this, it is fake,” he said. “This is just a social media rumour that resurfaces every couple of years. I have verified it across multiple sources and there is no truth to it.”

Muhammad Riaz, president of the Peshawar Press Club, also confirmed that no such initiative has been announced by the provincial government. “There is no such proposal under consideration in the provincial government or in any of its departments or institutions,” Riaz said.

Verdict: The claim that the government has announced examinations for journalists is false. No such policy exists and officials as well as press bodies have rejected it.

Follow us on @GeoFactCheck on X (Twitter) and @geo_factcheck on Instagram. If our readers detect any errors, we encourage them to contact us at [email protected]

Stocks at the bourse slipped on Thursday as renewed jitters over the Middle East peace track weighed on sentiment, after Iran’s stance raised doubts about an early de-escalation.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s benchmark KSE-100 Index traded between a high of 157,591.23, down 722.21 points, or 0.47%, and a low of 156,251.57, down 2,061.87 points, or 1.3%, compared to the previous close of 158,313.44.

“It’s the negative sentiment that the peace proposal is rejected by Iran, signalling continued hostility,” said AAH Soomro, an independent investment and economic analyst.

“It’s a pure sentiment-driven market thus far. Economy is edgy but nudging forward,” he added.

Oil prices steadied this week as investors still held out hope for a deal, with Brent just above $100 and WTI around $90, though the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and gas passes, continued to cast a shadow over markets.

Asian equities were mixed after a two-day rally, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Manila and Jakarta lower, while Singapore, Wellington and Taipei rose and Sydney was flat.

Markets had found support since late Monday after US President Donald Trump backed away from a threat to destroy Iran’s energy infrastructure and said the two sides were in peace talks. Washington has presented a 15-point plan to end the war, while Iran’s state-run television reported officials had put forward five conditions for hostilities to end.

Trump on Wednesday threatened to “unleash hell” if Iran did not strike a deal, though he also said Iran was taking part in peace talks, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran did not intend to negotiate.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the KSE-100 surged 4,347.08 points, or 2.82%, to close at 158,313.44 from 153,966.36. The index touched an intraday high of 158,586.09 and a low of 155,199.71.