Latest news with #AutomatedBall-Strike
New York Post
19 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
All signs point to MLB's automatic ball-strike challenge system coming in 2026
MLB appears ready to add another element of replay review to its game as early as next year. Rob Manfred said Tuesday he plans to propose a plan to bring the automatic ball-strike system to the majors for 2026, The Athletic reported from MLB headquarters. A proposal will go to the 11-person competition committee, and it appears likely that it'll have enough votes to get passed, with the league office having enough seats to make it happen, the outlet added. 3 The home plate umpire utilizes an automated ball-strike challenge system, or ABS, during the Dodgers-Cubs spring training game on Feb. 20, 2025. MLB Photos via Getty Images ABS has been tested since 2019, first in the independent Atlantic League before coming to the affiliated minor leagues in 2022. In 2023 and 2024, the Triple-A level used a mix of full ABS — meaning all of the pitches were called by an automatic strike zone — and a challenge system. This year's spring training had the system in place, allowing a batter, pitcher or catcher to challenge a given pitch, with each team given two challenges per game. The strike zone was determined by the Hawk-Eye tracking system and depended on a batter's height. 'I think that teams are really positive about ABS,' Manfred said, according to The Athletic. 'You know, I do have that unscientific system that I use — my email traffic — and my distinct impression is that using ABS in spring training has made people more prone to complain about balls and strike calls via email, to me, referencing the need for ABS. That is undoubtedly true, undoubtedly true.' 3 Detailed view of the Jumbotron during an automated ball-strike challenge aka ABS during the Dodgers-Reds spring training game. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Manfred added that he hopes to make a system that's 'acceptable' to the players and that a check-swing challenge was unlikely to be tested in spring training next year. MLB first added replay review late in the 2008 season to check home run calls before making significant additions in 2014 that included fair/foul, boundary calls and safe/out calls chief among them. The strike zone was always seen as the next frontier, and after a spring of testing, scores of fans and pundits have called for the change. 3 The video board displays the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system during a challenge by the Dodgers in the second inning of a spring training game agains tthe Guardians on March 11, 2025. Getty Images There was even one contentious incident over that weekend that centered on a lack of ABS. On Sunday, Taylor Walls of the Rays was ejected after tapping his helmet — in an apparent nod to an ABS challenge — when he disagreed with a called strike from home plate umpire Nic Lentz, though Walls denied he was referencing the system. 'That's what [Lentz] told me. 'You're not going to do that. You're not going to tap your helmet.' And so at that point, like, I know that they think that's disrespectful,' Walls said after the game. 'I watched the video, and I could see where he may have thought that.'
New York Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Rays' Taylor Walls fumes at umpire after being ejected in heated scene
One tap too many, apparently. Rays shortstop Taylor Walls was ejected during the ninth inning of Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Astros for apparently tapping his helmet. The act was a nod to baseball's incoming Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system, which is expected to be implemented in 2027. Walls saw just one pitch from Astros closer Josh Hader, a slider down and away, which was clearly out of the strike zone, yet was called a strike by home plate umpire Nic Lentz. Advertisement The light-hitting shortstop then said something inaudible to the umpire and stepped out of the batter's box, tapping his helmet potentially in a mocking request to challenge the call. 5 Taylor Walls taps his helmet during the ninth inning of Sunday's game. X, @MLBONFOX However, that is not yet allowed in the league, and he was swiftly ejected. Advertisement Walls, who is hitting just .188 this year after hitting .183 in 2024, went berserk after the ejection. Walls' aggressive reaction shocked broadcasters, as well as coaches, who were unable to corral him in an attempt to deescalate the situation and saw him run back at the umpire. Lentz gave a clear explanation of the ejection, adding that it was because of the way he tapped his helmet, which ignited the fury-filled aftermath. Advertisement 5 Umpire Nic Lentz ejects Taylor Walls X, @MLBONFOX 5 Taylor Walls goes wild at Nic Lentz during ejection. X, @MLBONFOX After the game, Walls denied mocking the umpire with a mock-challenge request and that he didn't even remember the heated back and forth. 'I just remember going to get into the box, kind of adjusting my helmet, and then hearing him mouthing something,' Walls told FanDuel's Ryan Bass. Advertisement 'I think I said, huh, like, 'What'd you say? I can't hear you.' At that point, I have no recollection of it, but after seeing the video, it looks like I tapped my helmet, but it was totally unintentional, something I was not consciously aware of at all,' Walls went on. 'I'm looking right at him when I'm doing it with no sincere, at that point, maybe I was frustrated with the strike call, but there was no sincerity of trying to show the guy up. 5 Taylor Walls is held back by coaches during an ejection. X, @MLBONFOX 'I don't know how he didn't see that in the moment, but I'm looking right at him. We're so confused, trying to understand what he said and I think it was just a mannerism that happened because I was stepping into the box, kind of re-adjusting my helmet at the time, and that just happened. He comes out, and he's like, 'We're not doing that. You're out of here,' and tosses me. 'So, at this point, I have no idea that I just, what looked like to him, tapped my helmet, so I'm ticked off. I'm like, what are you talking about? I didn't say anything to you. I'm asking you what you said, and [I] had no recollection that I even made a gesture that looked like that. Never in my life have I shown an umpire [up] like [that], been that disrespectful to do something like that. We didn't even have the ABS in spring training, so just to be so on edge thinking that somebody's just trying to be so disrespectful and show you up at that point, I think it was premature.' 5 Taylor Walls goes back for more at umpire Nic Lentz. X, @MLBONFOX The Rays are now in third place in the AL East with a 30-29 record after losing two of three to the Astros. They open up a three-game set with the Rangers on Monday.
Japan Today
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Japan Today
MLB to experiment in minors with technology challenges for checked swings
Milwaukee Brewers' Christian Yelich reacts on a checked swing during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) baseball Major League Baseball will experiment with a technology system to challenge checked swing calls in the Class A Florida State League starting Tuesday. Using a Hawk-Eye system, a checked swing call can be challenged by either the team at bat or on defense. The decision will be made based on whether the bat head is ahead of the knob by more than 45 degrees — matching the first-base line for a right-handed hitter and the third-base line for a left-handed hitter. Short of 45 degrees will be called a no swing. A team will be allowed to make a challenge until it has one unsuccessful challenge. A video of the Hawk-Eye determination of the maximum bat angle will be shown on the ballpark video board. The team on defense can still ask the plate umpire to check a non-swing call with the first-base umpire for right-handed batters and third-base ump for left-handed batters without using a challenge. MLB experimented with the system in some Arizona Fall League games last year at Salt River Fields. There is no definition of a checked swing in the Official Baseball Rules, through it references checked-swing appeals. The start of the test was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. MLB experimented with an Automated Ball-Strike System using the Hawk-Eye system during 288 spring training games this year, and teams won 52.2% of their ball/strike challenge s. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said regular-season use in 2026 is possible but not definite. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Calls Mount for Umpire's Firing After Dreadful Performance in Dodgers Game
Calls Mount for Umpire's Firing After Dreadful Performance in Dodgers Game Professionalism and objectivity be damned, veteran MLB umpire Mike Estabrook may want to gift Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani a free call or two. Ohtani's latest viral home run took most of the attention off Estrabrook following the Dodgers' 8-7 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. The popular Umpire Auditor X (formerly Twitter) account found that Estabrook missed 21 calls. Advertisement How bad are 21 missed calls over a nine-inning game? 'With a correct call rate of only 86.5%, this was the 5th worst called game of the season,' Umpire Auditor shared. Yikes. It's been an especially rough stretch for home-plate umpires. Both teams' fans and announcers blasted Tony Randazzo during Monday's game between the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies following a missed third-strike call on Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto. Umpire Auditor posted that Bacon missed 17 calls, including 14 against the Orioles, in last Sunday's game between Baltimore and the Toronto Blue Jays. Eight missed calls, all against the Orioles, came in the first three innings. Advertisement Social media users didn't have patience for those two and certainly had no sympathy for Estabrook. 'That first pitch called strike to Michael Toglia should have Mike Estabrook in an unemployment line tomorrow,' one X commenter wrote, referring to an eighth-inning low strike against the Rockies first baseman. 'Mike Estabrook is certainly calling this game,' another added. 'Not well, mind you.' MLB umpire Mike Estabrook in 2024Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Theoretically, veteran umpires shouldn't have such awful games. Estabrook worked his first MLB game in 2006 and became a full-time umpire in 2014. 'Why are we not using the challenge system yet ?' former Miami Marlins minor-leaguer Zach Moore asked. 'This is unacceptable.' Advertisement Moore isn't alone in wondering why MLB hasn't permanently implemented the ABS. Social media and improved pitch tracking have made it far easier to prove an umpire's strike calls are incorrect. If anything, Estabrook's performance is more reason for Major League Baseball to implement the Automated Ball-Strike system. Umpire Auditor found that Roberto Ortiz called the worst game last season. Ortiz missed an incredible 30 calls during a September game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals. 'If you're a major league should not be this bad,' an X user wrote of Estabrook. Related: Calls Mount for Umpire's Firing After Orioles' Loss to Blue Jays Related: Shohei Ohtani Is All Over Social Media After Latest Viral Clip
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fans Demand Umpire Tony Randazzo's Firing After Phillies' Loss to Giants
Longtime MLB umpire Tony Randazzo pulled off an incredible feat during Monday's game between the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies. Randazzo convinced everyone in the ballpark, including announcers from both teams, that Major League Baseball needs the Automated Ball-Strike system. Advertisement Randazzo became the latest umpire to turn heads for a controversial strike zone. With the Phillies trailing 8-4 with two runners on and All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto hitting in the seventh inning, Randazzo called an outside pitch for strike three. The Phillies' rally ended, the Giants pulled out a 10-4 win, and essentially anyone who saw the call agreed the pitch should have been ball four. 'That was as egregious a miss as you will see from a home plate umpire,' Phillies announcer Tom McCarthy said. Added Giants color commentator and former relief pitcher Javier López: 'Two gifts in the at-bat, but you will take it if you're [pitcher] Erik Miller and you're the Giants. Oh wow.' Advertisement Announcers have a responsibility to remain professional and watch what they say. The same doesn't apply to X (formerly Twitter) users. 'These umps are terrible,' wrote one X user. 'Fire them all.' Added another: 'This is an odd year. This [expletive] they're getting away with CANNOT last.' MLB umpire Tony RandazzoMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Many X users shared pictures from the official MLB app showing Randazzo's strike zone, and the graphics don't exactly favor the umpire. 'Tony Randazzo won't face a lick of repercussion for this either,' one commenter pointed out. 'He'll be back working tomorrow's game and it'll be like nothing happened.' Although Giants fans praised Gold Glove-winning catcher Patrick Bailey's pitch framing, plenty agreed that Major League Baseball must implement the ABS permanently. Advertisement 'Such a [expletive] joke. It's 2025—can we stop letting umpires affect the outcome of games?' an X user asked. 'Hey @mlb. When the opposing team's telecast said Tony Randazzo got it wrong, you have a major problem,' read another comment. Related: Calls Mount for Umpire's Firing After Orioles' Loss to Blue Jays Related: Orioles Announcers Blast Umpire After Controversial Ejections
