For more than a century, every baseball player has heard the same warning at least once: don’t argue balls and strikes. Not only was it considered pointless, but it was also seen as a direct challenge to the umpire’s unquestioned authority. The strike zone was whatever the person behind the plate decided, and players were forced to accept it. That was until this MLB season, with the debut of the new Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system. Using this new technology, with the tap of a cap players can challenge calls they believe the umpires got wrong.
Prior to this season, ball and strike calls were non-negotiable. Even the most blatant missed calls would stand because teams had no way to challenge them like most other plays. As a result, hitters were forced to adjust to even the most questionable strike zones, or risk being ejected from the game. But with ABS now in place, umpires no longer hold absolute authority over every pitch, and in cases of particularly ego-driven officials, players can now push back.
ABS was implemented to eliminate truly egregious missed calls, but has now introduced unintended tensions on the diamond as well. Modern fans, now equipped with sophisticated real-time pitch tracking, have begun to expect perfection behind the plate. To achieve that level of accuracy, however, would require removing the human element of umpiring that has been a staple of the game ever since it was created. The technology behind the ABS system is undeniably enticing, and can help remedy major mistakes, but we should still strive to preserve the human umpire, even if that includes a missed call here and there.
Potential issues surrounding ABS became evident in just the first weekend of the season and should serve as a game the league hopes to avoid in the future.
On Sunday, March 29, umpire CB Bucknor was behind the plate for a Reds-Red Sox game that would show the effects of the ABS system. The friction began in the sixth inning, when Eugenio Suarez challenged two consecutive would-be strikeout calls, and Bucknor’s frustration became increasingly noticeable.
In total, this game had eight total challenges and six overturned calls, which is noticeably more than average. While the system was functioning as designed, the constant stoppages created a visibly tense environment that began to feel like a mockery of the umpire more than anything.
Tensions skyrocketed in the eighth inning, when Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story checked his swing on an 0-2 count, but Bucknor took it upon himself to call him out. Normally in close calls like this, it’sexpected for the home plate umpire to appeal to a field umpire, since his view is obstructed behind the plate. This sparked immediate outrage that led to Red Sox manager Alex Cora being ejected, in a call that many fans saw as the umpire taking out his frustration for the challenged calls.
Bucknor finished with an 88.3% accuracy in this game. In most professions, being nearly 90% correct in a split-second environment sounds successful, but that’s not the case in a hyper-analyzed league like the MLB. His result would easily rank in the bottom three percent of games in any given season.
But an unintended consequence of the new system has become abundantly clear. MLB umpires are some of the most highly trained officials in any professional sport, but now they’re being forced to essentially work under a microscope with their failures being shown to tens of thousands in real time. While some say it humbles umpires and incentivizes them to make better calls, others believe it just humiliates them for doing an incredibly difficult job.
To the MLB’s credit, though, the ABS challenge system was designed to create a balance of power. Teams are given two challenges per game, which they can keep only if they are successful. This is so that players only challenge particularly egregious or impactful calls, rather than every pitch. The goal isn’t to replace umpires; it’s to give teams a chance to correct important mistakes.
Still, as everyone adjusts to ABS in today’s game, there needs to be some compromise. It’s easy to blame umpires for inaccuracies, but if we want to retain the iconic image of an umpire making the call, they cannot be treated as a subject of ridicule. Examples like Bucknor’s should hopefully be an extreme case, and not the norm going forward. As a player, manager, or even a fan, ABS is an important tool to ensure the fairness of the game, not an excuse to attack the officials behind it.