challenges of the ABS

[dumbdumb]

i would have thought the challenge system overall success rate, 50%, would have been much higher since the players would only be challenging an obvious miss, and we all know they would be great umpires, if they were not players and were to be umpires themselves. i would have thought 85% at the least and 95 or 96 at the high end.

lets see which players are considered, 'less than worthy' on each team. will it only be the superstars that get to challenge and keep their stats and future earnings up while the 'less thans' stats have to go down taking one for the team and keeping their pay lower (haves and have nots). will it be later innings only. how bout offering more challenges, or only unlimited challenges but only on the payoff 3-2 pitch which would put a person on base or strike them out. allow all pitches will not count as an answer since that is too obvious. is this just an intermediate step to the eventual (not if but when) of total ABS calling the pitches for the whole game like the umpires requested.

get those thoughts out. maybe the commish will see it and use it some time down the road before maybe full ABS. remember this does not stop a batter or pitcher from arguing a pitch they did not challenge and still getting dumped/ejected/tossed/dismissed/boomed from the game like usual.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2026/02/13/mlb-abs-system-umpires-new-rules/88658361007/

[johnnyg08]

It will become situational. 

Late, in a close game a strike 3, ball 4 or called 3rd to end the game will be challenged. 

I'll be interested in the situational data.

[The Man in Blue]

Entertaining information from the article:

“All I know is that we won’t let our pitchers challenge," Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona said. “They think everything is a strike."

Francona laughed, but it’s certainly a sentiment shared by several managers in interviews Thursday, with most saying they would leave that up to their catchers and hitters.

. . .

“We’re going to have a lot of conversations about that," Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I do think there’s going to be a strategy that comes with it. What that looks like, I don’t think I know right now, but we’re going to encourage conversations as far as leverage, when you use it, when not to, who should, who shouldn’t.’’

So, who has been told they can’t use it?

“I don’t want to say because they’ve already been sensitive when I brought it up," Roberts said. “So, I’m not going to name-call right now. I’m not going to say any names but I don't think that there’s a self-evaluation on who knows the strike zone, who doesn’t, who gets emotional, and understanding everything.

. . . 

In research by MLB, there were four challenges per games at the Triple-A level last season with about a 50% success rate. The most challenges, 3.5%, were utilized in the ninth inning.

[Richvee]

On 2/14/2026 at 10:12 PM, The Man in Blue said:

The most challenges, 3.5%, were utilized in the ninth inning.

OK, what am I missing? If an EQUAL amount of challenges were used every inning, that would be 11.1% per inning. How can 3.5% of the challenges be the highest inning?

[The Man in Blue]

Don't look at me.  I still argue that the Monty Hall Problem is actually a 50/50 proposition, beginning to end.

[dumbdumb]

will say that mackay was 1 for 7 on the challenges yesterday. had a hitters zone yesterday as 6 of the 7 challenges were on pitches called a ball. however, maybe they decided not to challenge 5 other pitches called strikes that would have been overturned to balls.

adding

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/just-over-half-ball-strike-004954720.html

[dumbdumb]

quick stat on opening day with an abbreviated schedule showed catcher pitcher batter were correct on 13 out of 23. i would have expected 20 for 23. that bar of them only getting about 54-56, like i said i would have expected a low of 85%. but it is a good system for catching ones that might bounce into the zone every now and then. lets see if catchers especially who have the best look of anyone, better than pitcher and batter and since umps have to look over their shoulder, better than the umps. lets see if they can get to 85-95% over time on challenges, and not be waisting challenges at the 54-56% level.