Automated balls and strikes are in the major leagues, and, unsurprisingly, a longtime veteran is not pleased.
Major League Baseball is implementing the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system for the first time this spring; it’s been tested in the minor leagues since 2021.
There’s a fairly decent chance that Max Scherzer, 40, is out of the majors by the time it’s implemented full-time (although commissioner Rob Manfred wants it next year). But he got a glimpse of the system in his spring training debut on Tuesday.
One of Scherzer’s pitches was challenged by a batter (the batter won), and Scherzer was clearly annoyed by the fiasco — while the system is in its rookie stages, it’s taking a little bit longer than the 17-second average it’s taken in the minors.
Later on, the new Toronto Blue Jay seemed to sarcastically challenge a pitch of his own — he lost.
“I’m a little skeptical on this. I get what we’re trying to do here, but I think major league umpires are really good,” Scherzer said after his outing. “They’re really good. So what are we actually changing here? We know there are going to be strikes that are changed to balls, and balls that are changed to strikes. … So we’re going to basically be even. So are we actually doing to improve the game? Are the umpires really that bad? I don’t think so.”
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“Can we just play baseball?” he added. “We’re humans. Can we just be judged by humans? Do we really need to disrupt the game? I think humans are defined by humans.”
This spring, teams will get two challenges per game, but are able to retain each challenge won. Only the batter, pitcher, or catcher can challenge a call, and it must be immediately after the call with no help from the bench or other players.
It is yet another big change to the sport commissioned by Manfred, who implemented a pitch timer, larger bases, and shift limits in 2023. However, fans seem to like the changes, as attendance increased in each of the last two years.
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