GoKawiilBaseball can be a game of physics and statistics, so I was surprised during a recent major league game in Seattle when a technical measurement sent the crowd into a tizzy.
In the May 1 matchup, Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans threw a fastball to hitter Leo Rivas of the Seattle Mariners toward the bottom-left corner of the strike zone. The umpire called a strike, putting Rivas out -- until Rivas tapped his helmet twice.
That gesture activated an Automatic Ball-Strike, or ABS, challenge to review the pitch, which must be triggered within seconds of the ball being caught.
All eyes turned to the big screen to watch an animation of the pitch. It showed, empirically, that the ball did nick the corner of the strike zone, confirming that the umpire had made the correct call, much to the groaning disappointment of the crowd.
ABS is the product of a joint collaboration between Major League Baseball and T-Mobile. The technology got called up to the majors this season after more than 7,000 games of testing in the minor leagues. The system is now used in all 29 MLB stadiums in the US (the Toronto Blue Jays' ballfield hasn't deployed ABS because T-Mobile is not licensed to operate in Canada).
When an ABS challenge is made, baseball fans see the results on the big screen within seconds. Jeff Carlson/CNET
Speaking at T-Mobile Park in Seattle before that early May game, John Stanton, owner and chairman of the Seattle Mariners (and founder of VoiceStream Wireless, which became T-Mobile), explained that the challenge system was developed after a new TV technology changed how people experienced the game.
Unlike fans in the stadium relying on umpire calls behind the plate, viewers at home could plainly see whether pitches were balls or strikes, thanks to a visible box for the strike zone on television.
"It became apparent when there was a bad call. And the umpires were embarrassed by it, and we were in a situation where it undermined some of the credibility of baseball," Stanton said. "It was important to find a way to fix that."
How the ABS system calls strikes and balls
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