Former New York Mets starter opens up about ABS system in MLB

Former New York Mets starter Max Scherzer is once again anti-change and spoke out this week about the ABS system in MLB.

Feb 25, 2025; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) throws against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning of a spring training game at TD Ballpark. | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Spring training is a time to try new things for both the New York Mets and MLB. This year, the league is testing out the ABS system to a mixed reception from fans and players.

While Major League umpires as a whole have gotten better of late, their definitive ball-strike calls are still wrong far too often for comfort. With the advances in technology in MLB over the last decade, an ever-increasing outcry for "robo-umps" may soon be winning out, with the ABS system seeing its first foray at the Major League level in spring training games this year.

ABS says this missed by 4 nanometers.
How can you not be romantic about baseball? pic.twitter.com/URchDoypMH

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) February 26, 2025

Teams have two challenges each for ball or strike calls, and they must be used immediately by the batter, catcher, or pitcher without any help from the dugout. While it has proven to be quite efficient at its job, it does still have its detractors who are stuck in the old ways, and none may be bigger than former New York Mets starter Max Scherzer.

Scherzer, currently with the Toronto Blue Jays, experienced the ABS system firsthand in his outing on Tuesday and did not have the best results. In the first challenge, initiated by St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Lars Nootbaar, a Scherzer strike was changed to a ball.

Read more: Is this former Mets hurler a potential 2025 bust candidate?

The veteran starter decided to try it out for himself just one inning later after throwing a curveball to JJ Wetherholt. The umpire called it a ball, Scherzer tapped his hat twice to indicate he was challenging, and the system determined the umpire made the right call making Scherzer 0-for-2 in ball-strike challenges.

“I’m a little skeptical on this,” Scherzer told Jayson Stark of The Athletic. “I get what we’re trying to do here, but I think major-league umpires are 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.”

Granted, this is the same pitcher who began taking off his pants on the field the first time he was asked to prove that he was not using "sticky stuff" after an inning. Complaining about change and improvements to the game is nothing new for Scherzer.

Max Scherzer and Sergio Romo were not fans of the foreign substance checks by umpires 🤣 pic.twitter.com/r9KBxgMltV

— Baseball’s Greatest Moments (@BBGreatMoments) February 18, 2025

Scherzer also contradicted himself in his own diatribe. Though he said the umpires are "really good" on Wednesday, just last year he said that they should be ranked and promoted/demoted based on their performance. That does not exactly scream faith in the umpiring unit.

The future Hall of Famer is on the wrong side of 40 and has been in the league for the better part of two decades now. While complaining about change and improvements to the sport has been his calling card for years, it may be getting worse the older he gets and the more changes come to MLB.