It's Time for MLB to Adopt the ABS Challenge System

During the Diamondbacks 3-1 loss last night against the Texas Rangers in the World Series, there were a number of calls from Alfonso Marquez that were difficult to explain. Pitches well within the strike zone were called balls. Leading off the bottom of the 9th inning, a pitch to Gabriel Moreno that was well off the plate and should have been ball four was called a strike.

Was it a make up call for the second pitch of the at bat that was in the zone and called a ball? Possibly. We'll never know. The problem is when the calls are that inconsistent the hitters doesn't know what to do.

Earlier in the game Brandon Pfaadt appeared to have Nathaniel Lowe struck out not once, but twice on pitches on the black. He didn't get the call either time and Lowe doubled on the 9th pitch. Instead of a three up three down inning, Pfaadt had to face the top of the order with two outs and a man on and ended up giving up an RBI single to Marcus Semien, and a two-run homer to Corey Seager. In Game 2 of the series it was the Rangers who were probably victimized by a number of poorly timed incorrect calls. This happens all the time, to every team.

Major League Baseball has been experimenting with an automated balls and strike system (ABS) in the minor leagues. That's included a challenge system where the umpire still makes the ball and strike calls, but the hitter or pitcher/catcher combo has a limited number of pitches they can challenge the call. On average major league umpires get about 93% to 94% of calls correct. The very best top out at 96% while the worst come in around 91%. That's pretty good actually, but it could be better. Of the 4-7% calls that are made incorrectly in a game, there are probably only a small subset of those that actually have a large impact. The problem is baseball is a game of inches, and one pitch, one bad call, can have a huge impact on the outcome.

It's time for MLB to adopt the challenge system in the major leagues in this writer's opinion. The ABS system is not perfect. There are still issues to be worked out. But the league needs to devote whatever resources necessary to expedite the implementation. With all the changes the league has made, most of them overwhelmingly positive, having the results of games, especially in the marquee event, decided by incorrect calls should simply no longer be tolerated.