Baseball, often called “America’s pastime,” has been played professionally for over 150 years. In that time, the sport has relied on human umpires behind home plate to call balls and strikes.
During this year’s spring training, for the first time in history, players will be able to challenge these calls with an automated replay review similar to what is used in tennis and soccer. The ABS (automated ball strike system) is not going to be in place for the current MLB regular season but is currently being tested in spring training. Pitchers, catchers and batters after a pitch will be able to tap their heads to signal they want to challenge the call using a set of cameras around the stadium, with an animated replay being shown on the scoreboard. This entire process only takes about 15 seconds.
The earliest this system could be put into effect for regular season games would be 2026. A decision on whether or not to add this system will depend on the reactions from players, coaches and fans.
This system would be a bad addition to baseball, and the MLB should not add it.
Others might argue that giving players a way to challenge calls made by the umpires will be a good thing, because it could allow them to hold umpires accountable for their bad calls and not let a bad umpire affect games. Another argument could be that allowing players to challenge calls would lead to more offense and higher-scoring games.
Both of these arguments aren’t completely true, however. In the MLB’s test run of this system during spring training, only 52% of challenges were successful. When they tested this system in the minor leagues, it was only at 50%. Teams only used about four challenges per game so this system is only impacting about two calls a game. The most recent data shows that in 2023, umpires missed about 12 calls per game. Adding this system would only make a small dent in the number of missed calls during a game.
The argument that this new system would increase offense in games is also incorrect. In spring training games where the challenge system was used, there was essentially no increase in the number of runs per game. While this is a small sample size, it is clear this system will not majorly affect offense because the pitching teams’ challenges were successful at a 56% rate compared to 50% for the hitting team.
Another major consequence this system will cause is reducing the effectiveness of “framing.” Framing is when a catcher catches a ball while moving it toward the strike zone tricking the umpire to call it a strike. Players like San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey have made a career simply off their ability to steal strikes and trick umpires. Catchers are taught this skill from a young age and this system would remove its effectiveness in the MLB.
The solution to this problem is clear. The MLB should not add this system to their regular season games.
