Here’s why pitchers shouldn’t ask to review calls

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Here’s why pitchers shouldn’t ask to review calls
Credit: MLB

As time goes by, Major League Baseball players are becoming more accustomed to the ABS system. This is the system that allows a pitcher, batter, or catcher to knock on the head if they disagree with the umpire's call (ball or strike).

The result is visible within seconds. A team can only make two mistakes per game (both in offense and defense) before losing its right to appeal.

This means that players will have to choose their moments (or be sure of their move) to request a review by tapping their helmet or cap.

Here at camp, the guys are taking chances to gauge the system a little. They want to establish benchmarks for the season—and that's the right thing to do—so they can use the system properly. And more and more, we're coming to the conclusion that pitchers can't use the system.

Why am I saying this? At first, I jumped to conclusions when I read that some pitchers will never use the right to hit him in the head. But the more time passes, the clearer it becomes: pitchers should not use the ABS system.

Unless it's an obvious pitch (which the catcher would have seen anyway…), everyone understands that catchers know better than anyone else whether a pitch is a strike or not.

A Mariners pitcher recently said that all pitchers always think they're throwing strikes when the call is close.

The catcher knows whether he caught the ball or not. The catcher is the one who catches the ball instead of being 60 feet away from the action, with his back turned due to a motion that means the pitcher is not always facing the play.

Take a look at the following play, for example. We see a pitcher calling for a strike, a catcher signaling that it's a bad idea… and a pitch that's nearly three inches away from the strike zone.

Would the Yankees' slugger have asked for a replay on such a shot? Did he just want to get his bearings? It's possible that's all it was.

But it's clear that the catcher, who knew his team had just wasted an appeal, was in a better position. And that will always be the case.

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Created by humans, assisted by AI.

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