The ABS System Has Been a Game-Changer For Major League Baseball

BY: MADELYN DIBIASE / CO-NEWS EDITOR

Maikal Garcia Challenging a call (Photo via Royals Review)

With a new MLB season in full swing, new rules and regulations are being experimented with. Major League Baseball has implemented the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System, which allows players to challenge an umpire’s call on whether a pitch was a strike. 

The rule states that each team receives two challenges at the start of each game that can be used at any point. Only batters, pitchers, and catchers can challenge a call. A successful challenge will allow the team to keep their challenge. 

An unsuccessful challenge results in a loss of that challenge. After two unsuccessful challenges, teams can no longer challenge any calls. 

A player would usually challenge a call whenever they suspect an error on the umpire’s part. Even a margin of one-tenth of an inch can cause a call to be overturned. 

To challenge a call, a player must tap their helmet twice to initiate the process. From there, a presentation will take place on the videoboard so everyone can see the exact pinpointed location of where the ball was located in relation to the strike zone. 

An umpire confirms the result of the call for the fans and announces whether the call stands or is overturned. 

The process of the ABS system has become a must-see moment in baseball, for both games in ballparks and on TV broadcasts. As of April 15, there have been nearly 1,000 challenged calls, with over half resulting in an overturned call (55 percent). 

47 percent of challenges have been initiated by batters, and 61 percent have been fielder-initiated. Data has been pulled for challenge leaders with the ABS system to determine who has been benefiting and who has been negatively impacted by it. 

Baltimore Orioles 1B Pete Alonso has been exceptional with his use of the system. He has a 100 percent success rate with initiating challenges. He has only utilized the system four times, so he is definitely being conservative with it and only using it when he knows the umpire has made an error. 

On the other side of the coin, Cleveland Guardians LF Steven Kwan has initiated four challenges, and only one has been successful. This is a success rate of 25 percent. It goes to show that he has initiated the same number of calls as Alonso, but Alonso has adapted and recognized umpire error more than Kwan has. 

On the pitching front, many have only challenged once, with some success and some failure. Pitchers like Freddy Peralta (NYM), Max Fried (NYY), and Chris Bassitt (BAL) have a 100% success rate when challenging a call. 

Other pitchers have not yet recognized umpire error to the best of their ability. These pitchers are Edwin Diaz (LAD), Seranthony Dominguez (CWS), and Zach Pop (PHI). They all have success rates of zero percent, from their only call being unsuccessful.

A lot of catchers, in particular, have been gaining the most success from the introduction of this new system. There are seven catchers with a 100 percent success rate when challenging a call. Some notable players on the list are J.T. Realmuto (PHI), Mitch Garver (SEA), and Adley Rutschman (BAL).  

When asked about his overall impression of the ABS challenge rule so far, Rutschman had this to say: “There's definitely a difference. You have to think about the right times to challenge. How confident are you? All of that.” 

Even the three catchers at the bottom of the ranking all have a 71.4 percent success rate, which is still satisfactory. These pitchers are Brett Sullivan (COL), Gabriel Moreno (AZ), and Henry Davis (PIT). Both Moreno and Davis have challenged seven calls and had five successes. Sullivan has doubled their numbers, as he has challenged fourteen calls and ten have been successful.

In terms of team data, the top three teams with the most success from the new ABS system are the Cincinnati Reds, the New York Mets, and the San Diego Padres. The three least successful teams in the MLB with the implementation are the Chicago White Sox, the Atlanta Braves, and the Washington Nationals. 

As for the effect on umpires, it can be daunting to have players challenge whether or not they are doing their job the right way. However, Mets utility player Jared Young stood up for the game officials and noted how the umpires are still doing a good job, and players aren’t challenging every pitch. 

This is a big change to the landscape of Major League Baseball, and the system has the power to change the outcome of games, even by one-tenth of an inch. This just proves that baseball really is a game of inches.