‘I’m not a fan’: SF Giants share mixed feelings on automatic ball-strike system

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.

Justin Verlander was on a minor-league rehab assignment when he got his first taste of the automated ball-strike system, or ABS.

Verlander hadnt used the system before and didnt plan on challenging any pitches.

Before his outing, Verlander told his catcher to handle any and all appeals.The temptation to reverse a call ended up being too appealing.The first time he didnt appeal, I thought it was a strike, Verlander said with a smile.This spring, Major League Baseball is using spring training as a testing ground for the automated ball-strike system.

ABS is only available at a select amount of Cactus League venues; Scottsdale Stadium, the Giants home venue for spring training, doesnt have ABS capabilities but the Giants have experienced the system in five road games.

Briefly, heres how the system works:Each team starts every game with two challenges.

Teams retain their challenge if they are successful but lose a challenge if they are unsuccessful.The home plate umpire will call balls and strikes as normal while Hawk-Eye technology, which is alos used for other Statcast data, monitors balls and strikes.Batters, catchers and pitchers are the only players who can challenge.

To challenge, a player taps their head.

Challenges must be made immediately.

The average time of a challenge is about 15 seconds.If a player challenges a call, a stadiums video board will show everyone in attendance the Hawk-Eye view.

The call is then upheld or overturned.Players were measured at the beginning of spring training (without cleats) to get their measurements for the strike zone.

The top end of the strike zone is 53.5% of a players height.

The bottom end is 27%.

The width of a strike zone is 17 inches and the depth is 8.5 inches.There are no extra challenges in extra innings.ABS will not go into effect this season but could be implemented as early as next season.

In the Giants clubhouse, reception is mixed.Verlander, the oldest active player in the majors, took a measured stance on the topic.

He acknowledged that technology is advantageous and the game needs to adapt accordingly, but also reminisced on studying an umpires tendencies and working within the confines of the strike zone on any given day.

Verlander conceded that he doesnt have enough experience with ABS to give his full opinion, but believes its in the right vein.

The right-hander also believes that todays umpires are also the best in the world at their craft and that perfection is an impossibility.Youre working with the umpire, Verlander said.

Now, theyre kind of boxed into this zone that they dont necessarily want to call.

...

The way that every umpire sets up, they have a little bit of a blind spot in certain places.

If you look at the umpires strike zone, technically, its more of a blob than an exact square.

There could be a fun way to be like, Hey, this is the umpires strike zone today.

Heres what youve got to work with.Verlander was neutral in his opinion, Patrick Bailey was more blunt in his assessment.Im not a fan, Bailey said.

I think its going to change a lot of the game.

I think umpires do a really, really good job and people over-dramatize the one out of 100 calls that might be egregious.

It could be, obviously, an important part of the game, but umpires do a really good job and its only going to put more scrutiny on them.One of Baileys biggest strengths as a catcher if not his biggest strength is pitch framing.

Last season, no catcher was better than him at turning balls into strikes.

He won his first Gold Glove Award due in large part to his framing ability.

ABS wont completely neutralize Baileys biggest strength since teams are limited in their challenges per game, but the system stands to chip away at his value, personally, and catchers collective value, generally.Catchers are extremely undervalued in the first place, Bailey said.

It could potentially take a lot of people out of the game, in my opinion, for no reason.

Theres a lot of catchers that can really catch and are really good clubhouse guys.

I think it takes away an entire element of our game and what we do.When asked if he saw any potential benefits, Bailey said he was all out on it.Related ArticlesSan Francisco Giants | How SF Giants could finally join in on stolen base partySan Francisco Giants | As continue Sacramento spree with 7-year, $65.5 million deal with Lawrence Butler, per sourceSan Francisco Giants | Bay Area documentarian chronicles Athletics move from Oakland through eyes of fan baseSan Francisco Giants | SF Giants Harrison rocked in second outing of spring trainingSan Francisco Giants | Two big-name Oakland musicians buy into Ballers ownershipFellow catcher Max Stassi, who has played in parts of 10 major-league seasons, isnt a big fan of ABS, either.

Similar to Bailey, Stassi believes that todays umpires do a phenomenal job to begin with and that one viral video of a bad call can negatively impact the perception of umpires.If they watched the whole game, theyd see how many calls they actually got right, Stassi said.

I really enjoy the human element.

Those guys back there put in hard work to be good at their craft.LaMonte Wade Jr., though, isnt opposed to the system as long as balls and strikes dont become fully automated.

Wade, who has often hit leadoff for the Giants this spring, has yet to challenge a call, but anticipates he would use challenges to get himself back into hitters counts.At the end of the day, people just want the calls to be right, Wade said.

I think this system allows for that.

Hopefully, the umpires dont get discouraged or upset that people are doing it.

I think its beneficial putting it up on the screen and letting everybody see it, including umpires.

Then, maybe, they can make an adjustment..

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