SAN FRANCISCO — Baseball’s new reality has arrived.
Blink, and you’d miss it.
The Giants came out on the winning side of the first Automated Balls and Strikes (ABS) challenged pitch in MLB history.
Giants starter Logan Webb dotted the upper outside corner to the first Yankee to bat in the top of the fourth inning Wednesday night, and home plate umpire Bill Miller ruled the pitch a strike.
The batter, Jose Caballero, tapped the top of his helmet. He wanted to challenge the call that put him down 0-2 in the count.
The process was over in a matter of seconds. Call confirmed.
The result was about the only thing that went in the Giants favor early on in the opening game of the MLB season. Caballero doubled home a pair of runs as the Yankees opened a 5-0 lead in the second inning.
In his second trip to the plate, Caballero was a part of history.
New to MLB this season, each team has the ability to challenge at least two ball-strike calls per game. While umpires continue to make the majority of the calls, the Automated Ball-Strike system can be used to confirm or overturn those rulings when initiated by the batter, pitcher or catcher.
Teams combined for an average of 4.3 challenges per game during spring training. The Giants were among the best in the majors, thanks to Patrick Bailey’s ability behind the plate.
Even with Bailey’s prowess, the Giants weren’t aggressive in deploying their challenges.
In his first at-bat, Bailey was called out on a pitch that was off the plate inside. He opted to walk back to the dugout rather than risk a challenge.
While teams start with two challenges, they only lose them when they are unsuccessful. Catchers were more likely to issue challenges than hitters or pitchers in spring.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
