MLB’s automated ball-strike challenge system debuted in the regular season last week, and it has taken “all of five days” for the system to “show why it might have a bigger impact on the sport than the pitch clock, bigger bases or the extra-innings ‘ghost’ runner,” according to Johnny Flores Jr. of THE ATHLETIC. Umpire C.B. Bucknor had eight calls challenged Saturday during Red Sox-Reds, with six of them being overturned. Umpire Chad Whitson in the Yankees-Giants finale on Saturday had all seven challenges against him resulting in overturned calls. Chris Segal, who umpired Sunday’s finale between the Orioles and Twins, had a league-high 10 calls challenged, seven of which were reversed (THE ATHLETIC, 3/30). In Seattle, Adam Jude wrote on ABS’ first day in action, 19 of the 31 challenges across MLB were overturned. Fielders combined to “overturn 10 of 15 attempts, while hitters overturned nine of 16 challenges” (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/27).
BRINGING FUN TO THE GAME: THE ATHLETIC’s Ken Rosenthal writes he is “not sure even Commissioner Rob Manfred imagined the robo umps could be this riveting.” And at least in the early returns, it is “good for the game.” The ABS process is “quick and definitive,” and fans “already are getting into it.” Rosenthal: “Whether the challenge system proves as big a win for Manfred as the pitch clock remains to be seen. But the game is supposed to be fun. ABS so far is delivering fun” (THE ATHLETIC, 3/30). ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan writes the general consensus is that not only does ABS work, but it “makes the game better.” For now, the novelty, speed and presentation of ABS are “hits with fans -- and plenty of players, too.” The three-dimensional graphic tracking a pitch into or out of the strike zone is “deeply engaging, a little mystery box that more often than not reveals itself in an important moment” (ESPN.com, 3/30).
REFINING THE GAME: On Long Island, David Lennon writes the whole ABS system is “going to be a work in progress and a very high-profile experiment,” which has “prompted MLB to set up its own publicly available data tracker” (NEWSDAY, 3/30). In California, Jon Fleischman wrote the ABS system “isn’t about replacing umpires with machines,” but it is “about reinforcing accuracy without destroying the game’s human structure.” MLB has “already modernized” in recent years -- the pitch clock, limits on pickoff attempts, defensive adjustments -- “all designed to improve pace and action.” Fleischman: “Those changes made the game faster. This one makes it better. Because it addresses something deeper: trust. Umpires aren’t being replaced. They’re being sharpened” (CALIFORNIA POST, 3/29).
HARD TIME TO USE: In Boston Peter Abraham wrote one early impression of the automated ball-strike challenge system is “having a challenge to use in the ninth inning of a close game is going to be huge.” Players who “overreact to a pitch early in the game and waste a challenge are going to hear it from their teammates and manager” (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/28).
CRAZY OBESSION: Yankees RF Aaron Judge joked that the team has had “too many meetings” about ABS. Manager Aaron Boone admitted that “he was ‘kind of obsessive’ about the subject during spring training.” Boone made it a point to tell players “why he did or didn’t like almost every challenge the Yankees made throughout camp.” He added that he “found 8-10 examples from his club and other teams that he felt strongly about.” At the end of spring training, he talked through each of them with his players. The skipper’s goal “was to get his squad to ‘inherently understand’ when it’s best to challenge.” Boone also “wanted to make sure that they were ‘stripping the emotion out of’ their challenges” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/28).
NOT NEEDED: In Pittsburgh, Gene Collier wrote MLB’s new ABS challenge system is “unobtrusive and unnecessary” (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 3/29).
