Nobody likes getting called out at work — especially when doing so happens on a JumboTron in front of tens of thousands of folks.
Some MLB umpires are “stewing” about the new Automated Ball-Strike Challenge (ABS) system and believe it’s creating a “near-impossible standard” for their jobs, according to The Athletic.
The caveat is that umpires agreed to this system in their last collective bargaining agreement, as The Athletic noted, meaning they are not blameless for this new world.
That lack of accountability from umpires is why ABS received such a push, with fans and players alike wanting fewer games determined by human judgement that can sometimes be faulty.
The ABS system seemingly has earned positive reviews for fans, rewarding batters for good eyes or pitchers for painting the black.
There have been some egregious games, such as notoriously bad umpire CB Bucknor having six calls overturned in one game and Mike Estabrook making five wrong calls against the Yankees.
The system is designed to not let those types of calls blow the game.
“We’ve only really had one game where it’s been a lot – I think there were 11 challenges in the game,” former Met and current Royals starter Seth Lugo told The Athletic.
“We were all thinking that the umpire (Andy Fletcher) was starting to get pissed off and someone asked him about it and he was like, ‘This is great. I’m getting better in-game, so this is cool.’”
One issue is that the system does not have a buffer zone, meaning it doesn’t afford umpires who miss even a strike by .01 of an inch any grace.
That call is ruled a ball, the same as if a pitch missed the zone by six inches.
MLB umpires reportedly gripe that ABS is not a perfect system since MLB officials previously told the Athletic they are 95 percent confidence ABS will locate a pitch within 0.39 inches of its location and they are 99 percent the system would track the pitch within 0.48 inches of where it ultimately lands.
Umpires would prefer if they received the same kind of help, but it has not been OK’d.
“Major League umpires hold themselves to the highest standard and deeply care about getting calls right. We appreciate the professionalism of our umpires and their commitment to the good of the game and the wishes of fans,” MLB’s senior executive Michael Hill told The Athletic.
“As they adjust to the new zone, we commend the umpires for being the most accurate as a group in history, building off last season’s historic high with a 93.5 percent accuracy rate on pitches this year (through April 7), up 0.8 percent through the same number of games in 2025 (92.7 percent). We are also pleased that on the closest of pitches, those being challenged, umpires have been correct nearly half of the time (46.2 percent).”
The Athletic cited data from Tap To Challenge showing the top 11 umpires averaged less than one inch on their misses, although Bucknor averaged 1.36 inches, the seventh-worst mark in the sport.
Orioles righty and longtime starter Chris Bassitt defended the umpires.
“I don’t think people realize 0.2, 0.3 inches off the plate — they’re like, oh my gosh, I can’t believe you missed that call,” he told the publication. “Go get a ruler out, please, and realize how much they just missed it by. He barely missed it.
“This guy is throwing 96 mph, and the ball moved 18 inches sideways. You have no idea what you’re talking about. You’ve never even seen this. So the fact these umpires are that good, let’s not take that away from them. These umpires are literally that good. I could not be more in favor of keeping umpires in this game.”
