Robot umps make early impact: Cubs pitcher wins first ABS challenge in spring training game

New York Times

20-02-2025

PHOENIX — With one tap of a cap, Cody Poteet made history and invited a new potential era in Major League Baseball umpiring.
It took just one inning for the Chicago Cubs right-hander to be the first player to successfully challenge a ball-strike call in a big-league spring training game, overturning a called ball from home-plate umpire Tony Randazzo to a strike against Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy.
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Poteet threw a 95 mph fastball that he believed to be at Muncy's knees and immediately signaled to implement the new automatic ball-strike challenge system. The display on the Camelback Ranch video board showed that the pitch indeed crossed within the rulebook strike zone. It turned a 1-1 count to 0-2, and Muncy struck out looking three pitches later.
'When that ball crossed, I thought it was a strike right away and he balled it,' Muncy said. 'I look out there and he's tapping his head and I went, 'Well, I'm going to be the first one.''
Only three players on the field can use the challenge system — the hitter, pitcher and catcher — with up to two per team per game. If a challenge is successful, the team retains its challenge. Every pitch is still called by a human umpire, and MLB estimated in its presentation on Tuesday that the average challenge took 17 seconds.
'It's a cool idea. It doesn't slow the game down at all,' Muncy said. 'It moves fast. The longest part was Tony trying to get the microphone to work in the stadium.'
The ABS System! pic.twitter.com/cb1CpUzjEW
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 20, 2025
Thursday marked the first time the technology had been used at this level after experimentation in the minor leagues, with implementation perhaps on the way as soon as 2026. Both Poteet and Muncy had at least some experience with it. Poteet made 10 starts last year in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with the New York Yankees organization, while Muncy witnessed it while on a rehab assignment from a midsummer stint on the injured list.
'The only thing I saw when I was in Triple A was the technology wasn't entirely there,' Muncy said. 'There'd be certain pitches that you would see and you'd look up on the board and it'd have it in a completely different spot. … Even the catcher would come back and be like, 'Yeah, that's not where that ball was.' The technology isn't 100 percent there, but the idea of it's really cool.'
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The next attempted challenge came in the eighth inning when Cubs catcher Pablo Aliendo challenged that Frankie Scalzo Jr.'s pitch had clipped the top of the zone against Dodgers infielder Sean McClain. The challenge was unsuccessful, with the video board showing that the pitch was 1.6 inches above what it would consider to be a strike.
'I think it's actually a pretty good system,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. 'Obviously (they're) trying to figure out how many challenges make the most sense in a major-league ball game. But those guys certainly used it, I think two or three times today. I like it because especially in a big spot, you want to get the ball right.'
There was at least some reason to laugh about it afterward. The Dodgers, in preparation for the first game under the new rules, held a team meeting with one caveat: Muncy was the only person who couldn't challenge.
'Freddie (Freeman) called me out in the meeting, said, 'You're banned from using challenges.' I don't know why,' Muncy said. 'I guess that's just because everyone just knows I have a good idea of the strike zone. But of course, it's me that gets the first one after all those guys are joking about it.
'When I came back, Freddie was waiting for me just laughing right in my face. Go figure.'