With the MLB season in full swing, it’s a good time to check in on one of the league’s newest policies, the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System. Fans, players and coaches have spent the past two months adjusting to this recent rule change.
The ABS System allows the pitcher, catcher, or batter to challenge the umpire’s ball-strike call. Then monitors analyze the height, angle and position of the ball as it crosses the plate to confirm whether the pitch was within the strike zone. If the challenge is successful, the team retains their challenge for future use within the game.
Here’s the catch: the pitch can only be challenged immediately after it is thrown, so eligible players aren’t influenced by their teammates. Additionally, each team only gets two ABS System challenges per game.
Jack Spector, a freshman at Northwestern and former high school baseball player, is an avid baseball fan and has seen the ABS System in action this season.
“At first when they announced it, I wasn’t a huge fan. I think the human element of baseball is a big part of it, but I think if every ball and strike were called with a robot, it would ruin the integrity of the game. So I think this is a good middle ground to find because you can use it in situations that matter,” Spector said.
Strategy plays a big role in deciding whether or not to challenge a pitch call. Since teams lose their challenge if they are wrong, most will opt to use it in clutch moments, such as ties and final plays.
“If you have one [a challenge] at the end of the game now, and the game ends on a called strike, everyone’s going to challenge it because why not? If you have it, you may as well use it, and that could dilute the excitement,” Spector said.
However, Spector believes the ABS System allows for a new kind of thrill for fans.
“I saw a video of back-to-back calls that got overturned in the clutch for the home team, and the crowd was going nuts,” Spector said. “It unlocks a whole new excitement, and I think that was just really fun to see.”
ESPN keeps an updated ABS System tracker, which ranks individual players and teams on their success with the challenges.
As games become more competitive, the ABS System will play a part in deciding results. Spector thinks it will make the league “more honest” and ensure calls are as fair as possible.
