With the Automatic Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system in line to be fully integrated in Major League games at the start of next season, it will mark the biggest rule change the sport has seen since the implementation of the pitch clock in 2023.
The ABS challenge system received positive feedback from players during its use in Triple-A and Spring Training, which paved the way to so quickly getting adopted in MLB games.
Although it required some negotiation with the Major League Baseball Umpires Association, the two sides were eventually able to come to an agreement. Furthermore, that came despite MLB commissioner Rob Manfred revealing umpires actually would have preferred an automated strike zone be used on every singe pitch rather than the challenge system, according to Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times:
“We obviously had to make an agreement with them to use it, and we made the agreement. I will say this: I think that they were more receptive to using it on every pitch, because nobody knows what he would have called. The problem with the challenge system is it points out when you’re wrong. And I think nobody likes to be shown, in front of 48,000 people, they just missed the pitch.”
Over the course of Minor League experimentation last year, there were two types of ABS systems tested in Triple-A. There was a full automated ball-strike system and the present-day ABS challenge system.
The option that MLB umpires seemingly would have preferred was the full ABS system, which calls balls and strikes on every pitch. But MLB decided on using the ABS challenge system going forward in accordance with the preferences of players, coaches, and fans.
How the ABS challenge system works
The ABS challenge system offers a good balance of technology to ensure calls are correctly made, while also preserving the human element with regular umpires. This is the main reason players, coaches, and fans prefer it over a full ABS system.
Home-plate umpires are still tasked with calling balls and strikes in games, but Hawk-Eye technology monitors the exact location of the pitch relative to the batter’s strike zone that is based on their height.
Players on either offense or defense are able to challenge a call if they feel the umpire got it wrong. However, only the batter, pitcher and catcher are permitted to ask for a review, and it must be made within two or three seconds of the umpire’s call without any assistance from the dugout. Each team starts the game with two challenges.
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