Umps Still Need to Study Zone with ABS Reducing Ejections, Increasing Walks
One of our readers astutely corrected my thinking on something, and as that something was to be part of this article, I thought I’d mention it right out front. The idea I had was that the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) would reduce the influence of pitch-framing. And it does, for a few plays per game. But the rest of the time, framing is actually more important than it used to be.
Carson Kelly is a master of framing, and he’s even better with this new wrinkle. It’s not a surprise that batters who walk a lot are in the front ranks of those using the challenges well. However, there is clearly a Dunning/Kruger-affected lot who only think they are good at strike-zone judgement, and they drag the stats down as a result.
Catchers try to utilize their challenges strategically, while umpires get feedback on the spot. Well, most of them. There are few that won’t get or implement the message. I don’t think I have to name them. You know who they are. But here’s an example:
The umps don’t seem to be happy in general, but they aren’t what we watch the game for and I’d just as soon not have them. In the meantime, they are at least being given the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
“MLB, I think, has done a decent job of giving umpires the ability to get in-game feedback,” Jeff Passan shared with Rich Eisen. “I don’t know if you knew this, but umpires have the two-way microphone and they can talk to the ABS operator and be told that, ‘Hey, you’re calling strikes a little bit off the plate, bring it in a little bit.’”
Eisen has been all over this, and I recommend reviewing his segments for further elucidation. Passan noted on his own podcast that ejections are down significantly across baseball following the implementation of ABS. After all, you can’t argue with a computer. While that eliminates some of the more colorful antics from the game — and might have drastically altered the perception of characters like Lou Piniella and Billy Martin — it’s made the game better.
ESPN asked players what they thought about a month ago, and the responses seemed to be universally positive. One bit of constructive criticism from Cubs reliever Hoby Milner is that the zone should be three-dimensional rather than just a plane, and he has a point. The article is hugely informative, and I recommend a read to get the whole of it.
It has felt clean,” Nico Hoerner said. “I don’t feel like it has made the games longer. We haven’t had one that’s been a huge turnaround in a game. I think it shows that umpires are mostly really good. There haven’t been many egregious calls.”
I’d have to agree. I loathe the pitch clock and don’t want to speed up the games or change their pace. I am an old man and I have some adherence to the old school, so the human drama of athletic competition is paramount for me. I adore the confrontation between pitcher and batter and don’t care how many times they adjust their wristbands in the tension of the moment.
This also has to do with being an herbal enthusiast. The stately pace of baseball, leavened by occasional moments of action before resuming languor? That’s ambrosia, that’s ideal. But that’s just me, and I digress.
Speaking of leisurely endeavors, players are walking more these days. At 9.5%, the league-wide walk rate is the highest it’s been in more than a quarter-century. This is the first time since 2020 (9.2%) and the first in a full season since 2000 (9.6%) that players have walked at greater than a 9% clip. While there’s nothing to prove this is strictly a function of ABS, the circumstantial evidence is strong.
“Of course it is,” Diamondbacks catcher James McCann told the AP in April. “What other rules have changed?”
Things that make you go hmm. And how about umpires denying challenges subjectively based on timing?
Maybe there should be more challenges, as two seems perhaps one too few. Three would be good for me.
