Atlanta Braves fans know all too well the pain a bad call by an umpire may cause. Human error is bound to happen but there are times when it's so egregious, it's impossible to ignore. That distrust of MLB umpires has led to calls for an automated strike zone over the years.
Major League Baseball has announced it will use the automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system during spring training this year. This system has been used in the minor leagues for a few years now and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stated he'd be open to using it starting in 2026.
According to ESPN's Jesse Rogers, thirteen spring stadiums and over 60% of Cactus and Grapefruit League games will feature the ABS challenge system.
Five dual-team stadiums in the Cactus League will use the system and eight of the Grapefruit League teams in Florida. The Braves are not one of those teams but the Blue Jays, Tigers, Yankees, Pirates, Phillies, Mets, Cardinals, and Marlins will employ ABS. So, Atlanta will get to experience the system at some point.
Rogers broke down the designated rules for using ABS during games as they are as follows:
- During the spring, each team will be given two challenges per game and will retain successful challenges.
- Only the batter, catcher, or pitcher can initiate a challenge, which must happen immediately after the umpire's call. The player must quickly tap his hat or helmet to indicate a challenge.
- The results of the challenge will be displayed on the scoreboard and television broadcast to communicate whether a call was overturned or not.
It will take big league fans to get used to this system and how it works. However, it will be interesting to see how it affects the game experience on both sides of the ball.
Braves reliever Pierce Johnson isn't thrilled with MLB's proposed automated ball-strike systems
Braves reliever Pierce Johnson has enjoyed a revitalization of his career since joining the Braves in 2023. During spring training interviews, he recently spoke with 680 the Fan and made his opinion known about the ABS system.
He was asked if he was a fan of automated strike zones being introduced in Major League Baseball and responded firmly, "I'm gonna go, no."
He mentioned that in Triple-A, he's heard players are just taking pitches whether it's close or not. This is a smart strategy if you're a batter because it heavily favors the hitter more than the pitcher. Pitchers have to call for reviews to get calls overturned and that creates more pressure on the pitcher to guess whether or not a pitch is a strike than hitters.
The main thing that seemed to bother Johnson was the human element being removed from the game. He mentioned it taking away important traits for catchers to have such as pitch framing and stealing strikes. Included in his explanation was that it takes pressure off of umpires. So, yes it would take away some of the drama but taking pressure off of umpires doesn't sound too bad.
Pierce did say pitchers would adapt eventually, but that he loves the human error aspect of the game. We could argue all day if that is a bad thing or not. Baseball is a game of adjustments and the challenge system would (hopefully) help prevent bad strike/ball calls.
Everyone is going to have a different opinion on this system and if the benefits outweigh what it may take away from the game.