TEMPE, Ariz. — The Angels are going to get their first taste of what might be the future of Major League Baseball on Sunday.
This spring MLB is testing a version of the automated balls and strikes (ABS) system that’s been evolving for the past few years in the minors. In Arizona, the system will be used in all ballparks that host two teams. For the Angels, Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians in Goodyear will be the first of 11 games with “robo-umps.”
Left-hander Reid Detmers, who will start that day for the Angels, got to experience the system while pitching last year at Triple-A.
“I want strikes called strikes, which is one of the good things,” Detmers said. “They’ll never miss a strike. But they’re also never going to miss a ball either.”
That’s not exactly true. MLB has determined that fans and players prefer a challenge system to a full ABS, after using both systems in the minors. A full ABS would cause too much of a change in the catching position and result in too many strikes on pitches that aren’t traditionally strikes, like balls that clip the zone and go in the dirt.
With the challenge system, the home plate umpire will make all ball-strike calls as usual. The pitcher, hitter and catcher can each challenge by tapping his head, within a couple seconds of the call. The ABS is then used, and an animation is shown on the scoreboard, illustrating where the pitch was in relation to the zone.
If the call is upheld, the team that challenged loses one of its two challenges. If it’s reversed, the challenge is retained.
MLB officials said the entire process took about 17 seconds per challenge last year at Triple-A. There were about 3.9 challenges per game, and 51% of them were overturned.
After the system is used this spring – about 60% of the exhibition games will be played in ballparks equipped for the ABS – it will be used throughout the Triple-A season.
The system could come to real major-league games as soon as next year.
The prospect of using technology to make some calls of balls and strikes is an intriguing one, and opens the door for a variety of new issues for players.
The strike zone will be measured using the 17-inch plate for the horizontal dimension, but the vertical dimension will be based on the height of the player. The bottom of the zone will be 27% of the player’s height and the top will be 53.5% of his height. All players are being measured this spring with a standard process, one that does not allow players to slouch to manipulate the size of their zone.
Even if the true height – rather than the media-guide height – is recorded for all players, that’s still not a perfect system. It means players who are the same height will have the same zone, even if they have different stances. According to the rules, a player’s strike zone should be based on “when the batter is in his stance and prepared to swing at a pitched ball.”
One of the other problems is that television broadcasts and online services don’t use the same strike zone that the ABS uses. MLB officials are working to standardize that to avoid confusion.
Catcher Sebastian Rivero, a non-roster invitee who was in Triple-A with the Atlanta Braves last season, said he felt different ballparks had a different ABS.
“I’m 0 for 5 in Norfolk with challenges,” Rivero said. “It was embarrassing. In every stadium, it’s not the same.”
Issues like those are among the reasons that Angels catcher Travis d’Arnaud is skeptical of the new system.
“I think to implement it in a big-league game is hard, especially when people put their whole lives in this game,” d’Arnaud said. “For it to change on something like that, when it’s not perfected yet, might not be the right timing of it. So it’ll be interesting to see how it goes.”
Players will also have to adjust to the strategy of when to use a challenge. With only two missed challenges allowed per game, a player will not want to put his team in a bind by wasting a challenge in a low-leverage spot. Players have to make the decision for themselves almost instantly, with no time to consult with the dugout to see if a challenge is appropriate.
Angels third baseman J.D. Davis, who was in Triple-A for part of last year, said “if you look up anywhere in the vicinity (of your dugout), it’s nullified. You’ve got to do it right away.”
Some teams in Triple-A also restricted their pitchers from challenging, putting the responsibility instead on the catcher. The thinking was that the catcher has a better idea of what has a chance to be overturned.
“We’re going to have meetings with players to make certain that they understand,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “It’s going to help them concentrate more on game situations. You can’t just be upset about a call and cause us to lose a challenge because you’re upset about a call.”
Another strategy that might 0evolve for catchers is a sort of reverse framing. Typically, the catcher is trying to get the umpire to call a strike on a pitch out of the zone. With the challenge system, catchers could be incentivized to get a hitter to think a pitch the umpire called a strike was a ball, leading him to burn a challenge.
“That’s what we want, to confuse them,” Rivero said.
D’Arnaud added: “When they lose their challenges, that’s when the zone gets bigger. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. I haven’t really experienced it. It’ll be interesting.”
Detmers experienced plenty of the system during a three-month stint in Triple-A. He also learned it adds an element of mental discipline for pitchers. He said there were two instances last year in which he got a called third strike to escape a jam, only to have the call overturned.
“You have to handle your emotions really well,” Detmers said. “You never know, especially if it’s a borderline two-strike call. You strike somebody out, and they could be getting back in the box.”
NOTES
Washington said Taylor Ward is going to be his leadoff hitter, which is fine with Ward. Ward told reporters a day earlier that’s his preferred spot, because he knows he’ll get a fastball to start the game. Ward also didn’t care about revealing his strategy. “That’s fine,” he said. “Let them know. I will be swinging at your first pitch.” …
Shortstop Zach Neto has been going through infield drills, even though he still isn’t cleared for throws across the diamond. Neto was making soft flips to second. Neto is rehabbing from shoulder surgery.