AAA teams to use the ABS (Automatic Balls Strike) system in 2023

[accinfo]

https://www.masnsports.com/blog/if-the-abs-system-comes-to-triple-a-could-mlb-be-far-behind

I think this is good and I would expect we will see this as soon 2024 in the major leagues.  

 

[Orioles4Life21]

I hate this for baseball

[scbalt52]

Used to be against it but needed now. 

[Orioles4Life21]

The much better solution would be for MLB to actually punish/get rid of the umpires everybody knows stinks.

I’m open to allowing a challenge or two but to go totally with a computer calling balls and strikes is wrong to me. Catchers will no longer have to worry about how they receive the ball? Good pitch framers will no longer matter? That’s baseball! 

[Oriole1940]

I do not like this but have called for it,  as honesty and competence are in short supply these days.  

[Moose Milligan]

I don't like this either, but some of the umpires out there (Laz Diaz, Angel Hernandez, CB Bucknor) are making this a necessity.  

I agree with the above, it will take something away from the game.  Pitch framing, how catcher's set up, receive pitches, etc...it's a small part of the game, but the game can be decided in the inches.  Plus arguing balls and strikes is always a good time.  

[forphase1]

Love it.   Much needed change. 

[Frobby]

If we didn’t have a top-flight framer, I’d be in favor of this change.  But since we do, going to the robo-ump will be disadvantageous to the Orioles, so I’m against it, for now.  

[Jagwar]

I need to see it in action, and understand how it will actually be implemented. But I expect to be a fan of it. One of the most frustrating aspects of the game for me is inconsistency in calling balls and strikes. It shouldn't matter whether an ump is hitter-friendly or pitcher-friendly, where an ump sets up, how a catcher frames a pitch. A pitch should either be a strike or a ball based on where it crosses the plate. 

Question... how does the ABS system adjust for the batter's height? For example, the difference between Altuve and Judge?

[Tony-OH]

23 minutes ago, Frobby said:

If we didn’t have a top-flight framer, I’d be in favor of this change.  But since we do, going to the robo-ump will be disadvantageous to the Orioles, so I’m against it, for now.  

Yeah, I agree in the sense that this robs Rutschman of some of his defensive value. 

[Pickles]

Will be interesting to see how this affect play in AAA.  I would like to see how it effects the game before really coming out for or against.

[Tony-OH]

23 minutes ago, Jagwar said:

I need to see it in action, and understand how it will actually be implemented. But I expect to be a fan of it. One of the most frustrating aspects of the game for me is inconsistency in calling balls and strikes. It shouldn't matter whether an ump is hitter-friendly or pitcher-friendly, where an ump sets up, how a catcher frames a pitch. A pitch should either be a strike or a ball based on where it crosses the plate. 

Question... how does the ABS system adjust for the batter's height? For example, the difference between Altuve and Judge?

I've always wondered that as well, especially since the knee is not always defined. Also, is the system going to call it by the strike zone definition in the rule book. 

"The Strike Zone is that area over home plate the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the bottom of the knees. The Strike Zone shall be determined from the batter's stance as the batter is prepared to swing at a pitched ball."

[Orioles4Life21]

Is it Trackman? Having worked with trackman, I can tell you first hand that it’s not perfect unless the tech has gotten better in the last 2 years. It’s very good east to west, not so much north and south.

[Aristotelian]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

If we didn’t have a top-flight framer, I’d be in favor of this change.  But since we do, going to the robo-ump will be disadvantageous to the Orioles, so I’m against it, for now.  

Love it for the game, hate it for the O's. 

[HandsomeQuack]

46 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I've always wondered that as well, especially since the knee is not always defined. Also, is the system going to call it by the strike zone definition in the rule book.

I believe it's some function of the player's height, meaning that a player's stance doesn't affect his zone.