An MLB umpire might need to get his eyes checked — stat.
The automated ball-strike system (ABS) has granted baseball fans another hilarious gem on Thursday.
Braves righty Bryce Elder threw a clear strike down the middle when facing Tigers’ Matt Vierling, but home umpire Roberto Ortiz called it a ball.
Catcher Drake Baldwin quickly challenged the call, and ABS revealed it was undoubtedly a strike.
After watching how far inside the zone the pitch was, Tigers play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti had a funny one-word reaction.
“It is…yikes,” Benetti said.
“It is the reason for the challenge system,” he added.
The reversed call led to a Vierling strikeout in what went on to be a 5-2 Braves win.
It should be noted that the ABS challenge system isn’t just calling out umpires who are way off. It has also made an example of players.
The Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. has even said his challenges are so bad that “you gotta laugh.”
His assessment came after a horrible challenge on a 3-2 pitch in the ninth inning — which was not close to being outside the zone — in the Yankees’ 12-4 win over the Astros on April 24.
“You just gotta laugh, at that point,” Chisholm said. “We were winning, it’s a kid’s game. You got to laugh at some things. Sometimes you just got to laugh at yourself and walk off. Did get fined a thousand dollars, but it’s OK.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
