WORCESTER — With two outs, the count 2-2 and a man on third, James Paxton dotted a 95.7 mph heater right on the lower inside corner. Home plate umpire Dane Ponscak wasted no time, immediately ringing up Andres Chaparro for a called strike three to end the first inning.
It looked like any strikeout you’ve ever seen at the ballpark, only this time the call wasn’t actually made by the home plate umpire at all, but by a machine.
Tuesday marked the debut of baseball’s Automated Ball/Strike System in Triple-A, the latest step for baseball’s electronic strike zone system after four years of testing at the lower levels of the minors.
Two versions of the system will be used. On Tuesday through Thursday games will be played with all pitches called using ABS, and Friday through Sunday a Challenge system will be used.
If this season’s trial run goes well, it’s possible we could see some version of the electronic strike zone adopted in Major League Baseball as soon as next season.
So, what is ABS? And how does it work?
The ABS system utilizes a series of cameras placed around the ballpark to create a 19-inch wide two-dimensional strike zone over home plate similar to the “K-Zone” displayed on television broadcasts. As has traditionally been the case throughout baseball history, the height of the strike zone is calibrated to go from the player’s knees to his midpoint, so taller players will have a taller strike zone.
For example, according to a reference card sent out by MLB, the 5-foot-6 Jose Altuve’s strike zone will be 17 inches tall, while 6-foot-7 Aaron Judge’s will be 20 inches.
To determine whether a pitch is a ball or a strike, ABS uses MLB’s pitch tracking technology to determine where the pitch crosses the plate. If any part of the baseball touches the strike zone, the pitch will be called a strike.
The result is determined almost instantaneously and is immediately relayed to the home plate umpire, who then makes the call on the field. Ponscak, the home plate umpire, said after the game that compared to last year the system has been improved and now they’re receiving the calls much quicker than in the past.
“Last year the pitch would come in, catcher would catch it and it would wait about a half a second and then you’d hear ball or strike,” he said. “Well here that pitch is coming in, right when it crosses and the catcher catches it I’m hearing ball or strike about half a second sooner. Every day traditional person might not realize that half-second, but for us we can definitely tell so it feels a little more smooth.”
The Challenge system is a slight wrinkle in that the home plate umpire calls balls and strikes like normal but the ABS system is being used in the background, so if the batter, pitcher or catcher don’t like a call they can issue a challenge, much like tennis players in major tournaments on close boundary calls.
When a challenge is made the pitch is shown on the video board for all to see and the ball/strike call is determined. Each team gets three challenges per game, and if a challenge is successful the team gets it back, but when and how teams use their challenges figures to become an entirely new strategic element.
One crucial detail — challenges can’t come from the dugout or from any coach or club staffer. It’s on the players to make smart decisions and not get caught up in the moment.
“If it’s two outs and nobody on and it’s an 0-2 pitch and they don’t call it, OK, he didn’t call it, it’s a 50/50 ball, you’ve still got the guy 1-2 with nobody on and the chances of them scoring a run in this inning are very low,” said WooSox manager Chad Tracy. “Now if you throw one and it’s 50/50 and it’s bases loaded and two outs that might be a good time to try and use one if you feel like the call was missed.”
Though initial talk of “robot umpires” implied the man behind the plate would become obsolete, the home plate umpire still remains essential to the flow of the game. If for whatever reason the pitch call isn’t relayed in a timely manner, they are empowered to make the call themselves. The umpire also needs to make rulings on things like checked swings or catcher’s interference, and if there is a play at the plate someone obviously needs to be there to call the runner safe or out.
Like with baseball’s other recent rule changes it will take some time for everyone to adjust. Tracy said after the game that a lot of pitches at the knees were called balls that might have previously been strikes.
If you didn’t know ABS was being used you probably wouldn’t have noticed anything different at all, which is exactly what the league is hoping for out of the new system.
Electronic strike zone or not, Paxton had trouble finding the plate in his latest rehab start. Coming off a rough seven-run outing last time out the veteran lefty was tagged for five runs (four earned) over 4.1 innings in Tuesday’s 8-6 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
Paxton threw just 42 of his 82 pitches for strikes, walking four batters while allowing three hits. The bulk of the damage came in the second when he allowed a three-run home run to Rodolfo Durán, and then in the fifth he couldn’t field a grounder in front of the mound for an error and walked the ensuing batter on four pitches. He was then lifted for reliever Taylor Broadway, who immediately gave up a three-run home run to score both of Paxton’s inherited runners.
If there was one silver lining it’s that Paxton’s velocity was good. He topped out at 96 mph and was consistently in the 94-95 range, up 2.0 from his average so far. He finished with five strikeouts and is expected to take the hill again for Worcester on Sunday.
It wasn’t an easy day for the WooSox, who trailed as much as 8-0 after former Red Sox pitcher Ryan Weber took a no-hitter into the fifth inning.
To their credit, they did make things interesting at the end.
Trailing 8-4 entering the bottom of the ninth, the WooSox loaded the bases with two outs and Bobby Dalbec delivered a two-run double to bring the winning run to the plate. Wilyer Abreu then drew his third walk of the day to re-load the bases, but Jorge Alfaro struck out to end the game.
“We fought back,” Tracy said. “We need that right now and I thought it was important for sure.”