Three Ways to Look at Giants ABS Challenges Through 13 Games

The San Francisco Giants have put up some interesting numbers in their use of the Automatic Ball Strike (ABS) system for challenges.

San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

First-year San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello has had plenty to navigate in his first 13 games at the helm.

One of those things happens to be the ABS system, as Major League Baseball adopted the system for the first time this season. The system has been tested in the minor leagues for the past few seasons, but now MLB players get the chance to use it in games.

The challenge system — teams get two challenges keep them when they’re successful — is just another thing for both Vitello and the Giants to navigate early this season.

Baseball Savant has been keeping up with the data and here are three ways to look at how the Giants have used ABS through their first 13 games.

Total Challenges

San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames. | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

The Giants have challenged 19 calls so far — seven by hitters and 12 by catches. Given that San Francisco has an elite catcher in Patrick Bailey behind the plate, it’s not a surprise the challenges lean toward him. Pitchers can challenge as well. San Francisco is the media in total challenge calls. The Minnesota Twins have challenged 38 calls — 20 as the hitting team and 18 as the fielding team.

Like every other MLB team, the Giants are trying to feel out the balance between being aggressive and preserving at least one challenge for late in the game when it could be useful. San Francisco must also consider the fact that the ABS is so precise that a millimeter inside or outside of the zone could make the difference between a call being upheld or overturned.

Successful Challenges

San Francisco Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

At the plate, the Giants have won three of their seven challenges. That’s a 43% success rate. The good news is that two of the challenges have eliminated strikeouts. So it’s extended the at-bat for two Giants batters. The Twins have won the most challenges (10) and are tied for the most challenges lost (10) with the Los Angeles Angels and the Cleveland Guardians.

As the fielding team, San Francisco is 50% — 6-for-6. The challenges have been meaningful, though. They’ve turned two at-bats into strikeouts, and one eliminated a potential walk. So the Giants have a solid read on the strike zone in the field and are leveraging it well in critical situations.

Individual Challenges

San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Heliot Ramos and Willy Adames have used it the most, as each has challenged two calls. Ramos has won both challenges and overturned two strikeouts. Adames has lost both challenges. Jerar Encarnacion, Luis Arraez and Matt Chapman have each challenged a call and Encarnacion is the only one of the three to win the challenge. It did not, however, overturn a strikeout.

Bailey has used 11 of the 12 fielding challenges and has a 5-6 record with one of those challenges turning into a strikeout. Rookie Daniel Susac has used the other challenge and he was successful. That challenge turned a walk into a strikeout.