Erik Boland: Yankees have been on target when implementing ABS challenge system
The jumbotron shows that Yankees challenging a call against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning at Oracle Park on Friday in San Francisco. Credit: Getty Images/Ezra Shaw
SEATTLE – That Aaron Boone felt the Yankees would be good – “really good” in his words – at challenging calls via the newly implemented ABS (automated ball-strike) system was no surprise.
Boone has been, generally speaking in his tenure, the managerial audiobook version of Norman Vincent Peale’s “Power of Positive Thinking” when it comes to his team.
Much to the consternation, at times, of the Yankees fanbase.
But three games into the regular season, the Yankees have indeed been among the best teams in baseball when it comes to ABS.
Entering Monday night against the Mariners here, the Yankees were 5-for-6 in challenges. They were 3-for-3 on defense, including catcher Austin Wells going 2-for-2 turning called balls into strikes, and 2-for-3 on offense.
The Yankees’ lone misfire in the season-opening sweep was Jose Caballero failing to have his challenge of a strike call overturned in the first game (Caballero’s batting helmet was whisked off to Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame for being the first player in history to use ABS).
Otherwise, the Yankees have been rewarded with their challenges, executing a couple of them in critical situations.
In the sixth inning of an eventual 3-0 victory Friday night, Aaron Judge challenged a strike 2 call by plate umpire Chad Fairchild. Judge, the victim of more low strike calls than anyone over the last decade, tapped his helmet and the pitch was ruled a ball. Five pitches later, Judge hit his first homer of the season.
Saturday’s 3-1 victory brought an even more significant game-swinging challenge.
With one out in the third of a scoreless game, Trent Grisham was called out on strikes and quickly tapped his helmet. The call was overturned, and the centerfielder walked. After Judge struck out, Cody Bellinger singled and Ben Rice roped a two-run double high off the wall in right for a 2-0 lead.
“Really good challenge in that spot,” Boone said of Grisham. “[And] Austin was tremendous behind the plate. Just in every way. Had some really good challenges.”
The catcher successfully challenged a ball call Friday night, which turned into an inning-ending strikeout for Cam Schlittler, and he twice assisted Yankees relievers on Saturday.
In the seventh, the Yankees ahead 3-1, plate umpire Chad Whitson called a ball on a Jake Bird 0-and-1 pitch to Casey Schmitt. It became 0-2 after Wells challenged. Schmitt struck out.
Later in the same inning, lefty Tim Hill came on to face Jung Hoo Lee and thought he threw a 0-and-2 pitch for strike three. Whitson called it a ball, Wells challenged, was right again, and Hill had his strikeout.
“I love what I’m seeing from Austin Wells back there, overturning a couple big calls to shift the momentum onto our side,” Judge said.
Few players, of course, will be watched as closely as Judge when it comes to ABS, mostly for the reason mentioned above.
But Judge, who regardless of the number of low strikes he’s had called against him over the years is well-liked and respected by umpires because he says little to them and rarely, if ever, scapegoats them, said his approach is an evolving one.
“I think having the challenge in your back pocket will be nice in certain situations,” Judge said. “For me, still, it’s got to be high-leverage.”
Speaking in San Francisco, Judge only half-jokingly said during spring training the Yankees “had too many meetings about it [ABS], in my opinion.” He then gave voice to what some other veteran hitters in the game have privately said about one potential drawback with ABS: hitting is hard enough without having something else to think about at the plate.
“I’m a hitter, I have to focus on hitting,” Judge said. “I’m not going to try and sit here and challenge every single one I think is close. If there’s a big spot where I think I have a chance to flip a count, I’m going to do it. But I still have to go up there and do my job as a hitter.”
As Judge referenced, he has liked what he’s seen from Yankees’ catchers.
“I like them using it as much as they can to help our pitching staff,” Judge said. “Hopefully we can use it to our advantage. It’s just another part of the game now. Hopefully we can execute and be elite at it.”
So far, and it is worth pointing out it's been all of three games, the Yankees have been that.
As Boone predicted.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
