BASEBALL FINDS THE TRUTH: NO BS ABOUT ABS, WHICH CORRECTS ERRANT UMPIRES
In a sport overloaded with historic scandals, the strike zone should be computerized if a batter, pitcher or catcher attempt a challenge — umps are protected by technology when they could be shamed
The home-plate umpire was so certain, so friggin’ sure, that he clenched his fist and pulled back his arm as if loading a gun. Then Nate Tomlinson nodded at the batter and assumed he’d return to the dugout with a called based-loaded strikeout. But this time, Andy Pages had a robot in his pocket.
It’s known as the automated ball-strike system, or ABS, and anyone who sees only BS is dead wrong. Nothing prompts more joy in a baseball game — or more discontent — than an ump who makes an obvious mistake. For the first time in spring training, major-league rules allow a batter, a pitcher or a catcher to demand a computerized challenge. Pages tapped his helmet and waited for videoboard animation to repeat the path of the pitch.
So did Tomlinson, who now preferred to choke himself instead of calling a batter out. The pitch was high, nowhere near the top of the strike zone. Pages stayed in the batter’s box. And suddenly, only two years after a highly celebrated pitch clock was introduced, ABS is pouncing on the truth in a sport of liars. No? We’ve had a steroids scandal. We’ve had an electronic sign-stealing scandal. We’ve had gambling scandals.
This works.
“There's a lot of pressure on umpires now to get these calls right, because there's such a spotlight,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “They're trying to take some of the controversy out of it.”
Why not create real honesty when baseball stumbles into a troubled future? At least commissioner Rob Manfred can launch ABS during the 2026 regular season and not look at next year as the bitter end of a collective bargaining agreement. Want a better treat than a hot dog and a beer? Check out Tomlinson’s frown as the crowd hissed. Check out San Diego pitcher Manuel Castro, who returned to the mound. And check out Pages, who had another chance for a Dodgers team that gets all the breaks.
Well, maybe not. Another home-plate ump, Tony Randazzo, thought a pitch from Cody Poteet was a ball last week. It was a strike, as tracking technology determined, and the Cubs pitcher was right to tap his head. “When that ball crossed,” said Max Muncy, of the same Dodgers, “I thought it was a strike right away.” He knew the ball had slipped into the zone.
“I felt like there was a good, high-percentage chance it was a strike,” Poteet said. “And every strike matters.”
It meant Muncy was the first obliterated ABS batter. “I look out and the pitcher seemed very excited to challenge that one,” he said. “I knew it would be overturned and was like ‘Aw, man, I’m going to be the first one.’ ” In the dugout, teammate Freddie Freeman was waiting for him.
“All those guys are joking about it. So fitting,” said Muncy, smiling. “When I came back, Freddie was waiting for me, just laughing right in my face. Go figure.”
They won’t be laughing soon enough, figuring the waves of early approval will become reality. A team is allowed just two ABS challenge misses, so wisdom suggests both sides wait until later innings to try the freedom card. Imagine if Shohei Ohtani taps his helmet and waits out a ball, enabling him to hit a home run. Or imagine if he taps his head on the mound, as a pitcher, and waits out a strike. Imagine a World Series decided by robo-umps, courtesy of Hawk-Eye technology. Briefly, MLB considered a completely automatic strike zone, but the processes would have taken too long.
Anyone feel badly for the human umps? They are paid to make the correct calls and too often screw up. This way, the computer corrects them in the batter’s box. Why not? How many men in blue go down in shame when they can be protected? “It’s actually a pretty good system,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Especially in a big spot, you want to get the call right.”
“Do they feel like baseball is a better game? Is it more fair?” said Morgan Sword, MLB's executive vice president for baseball operations. “This is a pretty big decision for the game of baseball that we want to make sure to get everybody to weigh in on.”
Who knew? The Yankees can grow beards and challenge calls. Everson Pereira was called out at the plate, but he used the system. Strike three was ball four, and Spencer Jones smashed a two-run homer. “The timing to challenge a close pitch was there, and obviously, he was right and convicted on it,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Does anyone not like ABS? Count Terry Francona — but only because he’s preparing for a 2025 season and not for 2026. “It's not a strategy, so why work on it? I don't want to make a farce of anything, but we're here getting ready for a season and that's not helping us get ready,” said the Cincinnati manager.
We’ll see batters and pitchers who think they know the strike zone and simply do not. Credit Manfred for understanding fair play and the entertainment value. Games are slow even with the pitch clock. This gives people a chance to hoot and holler.
“I think that everybody has come to appreciate that the changes in the game — it's not just about the minutes, it's about the action and the athleticism that fans were looking for,” Manfred said. “And, like any institution, we're going to need to continue to change going forward.”
ABS? They used to be known as abdominal muscles. In 60 percent of spring games, ABS might make your stomach tickle.
Or growl.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.