While the vast majority of fans, media, players, and pitchers have a deep and abiding love for baseball’s new Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system, umpires and John Smoltz apparently do not.
The Fox Sports color commentator and former Braves ace John Smoltz was in the booth for the Red Sox-Cardinals game on Saturday, and, during the bottom of the sixth inning, gave a very bizarre take regarding a hitter’s decision to challenge a call.
Cardinals hitter Jordan Walker stepped to the plate with one out and nobody on. He took a called strike from Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez on the first pitch he saw. But Walker elected to challenge the call and won.
However, despite being successful, Smoltz had trouble understanding Walker’s reasoning behind the challenge.
“See again,” Smoltz said. “This is one I just don’t understand. If you’re a hitter, even though you get it right, it’s only strike one.”
Okay, so what?
Should Walker have willingly allowed a bad call that went against him to stand just because it was strike one? Would Smoltz have allowed a pitch that was clearly a strike to stand if it were called a ball?
Some baseball stat junkies on X were quick to point out the nonsensical nature of Smoltz’s analysis.
Some period of adjustment is to be expected for umpires and old-school players, such as Smoltz, as the wave of modernization has taken over baseball. And there may even be some value in their bizarre takes on innovations that have clearly made the game better and were long overdue.
But no small amount of humor can be found in listening to former players who likely – no, definitely – would have challenged all of the same calls they are questioning current players for challenging.