Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta on the ABS system in minor league baseball: ‘I hate it. It’s terrible. Hopefully it never comes to baseball.’
Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta was very open and candid about his feelings regarding the ABS (Automatic Balls and Strikes) Challenge system following his rehab outing with the WooSox on Thursday night.
“I hate it. It’s terrible. Hopefully it never comes to baseball,” a pointed Pivetta said following his rehab start. “I think the challenge system is fine, but the strike zone—it’s just weird. It doesn’t fit; it doesn’t match baseball.”
The automated ball-strike system (ABS), also known as robo-umps, utilizes the Hawk-Eye tracking system to determine if a pitch is a ball or a strike. The call is then relayed to the home plate umpire via an ear piece, and then they make the call.
Each team gets three challenges and retains the correct challenge. The challenges can only be made by the pitcher, catcher, or hitter. In order for a player to challenge, it must be made immediately after the umpire’s call.
For Tuesday–Thursday games in Triple-A, the ABS system will call all pitches. The ABS challenge system will be in effect for Friday through Sunday games. The home plate umpire will call pitches, but the batter, pitcher, or catcher can appeal their strike call. The ABS system will then rule on whether the call stands or is overturned.
The manager or the bench has no say on whether a pitch can be challenged. However, the bench is issued an iPad that will show the tracked location of each pitch, and the teams can flag pitches they believe are questionable. This will allow the tweaks to better enhance the technology moving forward.
The International League used the ABS system last year, and runs per game increased by .52 (4.98 to 5.50), walks increased from 4.0 to 4.8 per nine innings, and hits increased from 8.7 to 9.0 per nine innings, according to Baseball America.
Overall, the ABS system was not a true reflection of Pivetta’s outing. The right-hander tossed three innings in the WooSox 7-1 loss to Lehigh Valley, giving up four earned runs off three hits while walking four and striking out five batters.
“I was able to get the pitches that I wanted to and feeling healthy and strong. I walked a ton of guys, and I really didn’t get ahead of counts. I have some mechanical adjustments to work on, but I’ll be fine,” said Pivetta.
Pivetta reached 94.4 mph on his fastball, which he threw 23 times. The plan for the 31-year-old hurler is to return to the Red Sox starting rotation in the near future. “Just to continue to be healthy and see where we go from there,” Pivetta said.
Pivetta, who has been on the injured list since April 9 with a right elbow flexor strain, recently tossed a 50 pitch simulated hame in Boston last Saturday.
“He bounced back well,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said to reporters on Sunday ahead of Pivetta’s rehab outing. “He feels great. So now we just map it out. From my end, I would like him to go down (to Worcester) and make a start if it’s three or four innings and then come back. But I’m happy that he’s feeling great and looking forward to having him back.”
