When MLB announced that they were implementing the ABS challenge system for the 2026 season, Atlanta Braves fans, along with the baseball world, rejoiced. After all, they would no longer be subjected to umpires ruining games with terrible calls on balls and strikes... Or so they thought.
Through the first 17 games of the season, the Braves ineptitude with challenges has left them vulnerable to late inning calls, much to the dismay of fans.
Atlanta Braves continue to fail with ABS challenges in spectacular fashion
Coming into Sunday night, the Braves had the second-worst success rate on challenges by batters, coming up on the winning side of just 27% of challenges. They had six more challenges than the least-successful team, the Milwaukee Brewers. They were tied for fourth in challenges lost, with just the Angels being within 11 percentage points.
Atlanta had two of the six worst challengers according to Baseball Savant, using their Overturns vs. Expected metric. Mauricio Dubón ranked dead last in MLB at -3.3, while Ronald Acuña Jr. ranked sixth at -2.5. Acuña is tied for the league lead in challenges lost at four. Only Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II have a positive score.
Unfortunately, it's not for the umpires success behind the plate either. The Braves have seen seven umpires with a accuracy rate under 94%, but players simply haven't challenged the right pitches.
What's been particularly frustrating is how the team has challenged. The Braves already have multiple games where they've run out of challenges before the fourth inning, and the challenges themselves for far from optimal.
When the Braves ran out of challenges in the first inning on March 28th, it was on a pitch that was well in the zone on a 1-0 count. On Sunday, the Braves wasted their final challenge on a ball that was 1.1 inches below the zone.
The trends are already showing that catchers are much more successful at challenging pitches than hitters are, as 61% of challenges by fielders have been overturned, compared to just 47% of challenges by hitters. This trend has followed with the Braves, who have been successful on 56% of their challenges on defense. Still, this is below the MLB average.
As umpires can attest, judging balls and strikes can be a tricky task, but as the first two-and-a-half weeks of the MLB season has shown, Braves batters have to become more strategic about when they use challenges.