Latest news with #AutomatedBall-StrikeSystem
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Calls Mount for Umpire's Immediate Firing After Rangers-Rays Game
Calls Mount for Umpire's Immediate Firing After Rangers-Rays Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Congratulations are in order for veteran umpire Laz Díaz, who quietly set an MLB record earlier this week. Advertisement Unfortunately for Díaz, as well as anyone against the Automated Ball-Strike System, we never said it was the good type of history. Those watching Tuesday's Texas Rangers-Tampa Bay Rays game saw Díaz call a third strike on Rays left fielder Jake Magnum. Anyone watching likely immediately noticed the ball was well outside the strike zone. How egregious was Díaz's call? The Umpire Auditor X/Twitter account found that Rangers pitcher Tyler Mahle's pitch missed outside by 6.83 inches. 'With that call,' Umpire Auditor wrote, 'Laz Diaz has taken the crown from Angel Hernández for the worst called strikeout in Umpire Auditor history.' Advertisement Hernández previously set the record in April 2024, in a game ironically also featuring the Rangers. Texas designated hitter Wyatt Langford struck out on a pitch that was 6.78 inches outside the strike zone. 'I'm so serious this should be grounds to finally fire Laz Diaz,' wrote one X/Twitter user. Added another: 'Now that Angel is gone, we gotta put our time and effort getting Laz Diaz off the [expletive] field.' MLB umpire Laz Díaz in 2024Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images Thankfully for the Rays, they survived Díaz's strike zone to win 5-1. Diaz previously turned heads in April after a heated viral argument with Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Luvollo. Advertisement "The MLB has to pressure Laz Diaz into retiring the same way they did with Angel Hernández," an X user argued. "He's just as bad (if not worse!) but never had the infamous popularity for some reason as Angel." Hernández retired in May 2024 after 34 seasons. Diaz has been a full-time umpire since 1999 and became a crew chief in 2022. "If you know the ump's name, chances are he [expletive] sucks at his job," one commenter suggested. Related: Fans Outraged at Umpire Over Calls in Phillies-Athletics Related: Fans Outraged Over What Umpire Did in Mets-Yankees This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Outraged Fans Call for Umpire Jordan Baker's Firing After Blue Jays-Twins Game
Outraged Fans Call for Umpire Jordan Baker's Firing After Blue Jays-Twins Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Major League Baseball has all but made it clear that the Automated Ball-Strike System isn't coming to the regular season anytime soon. Advertisement Veteran umpire Jordan Baker might be the latest to make league officials reconsider that stance. The Umpire Auditor X/Twitter account found that Baker missed 19 calls during Friday's Toronto Blue Jays-Minnesota Twins game. Baker notably struck out and subsequently ejected pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers in the eighth inning after arguing a low strike. Jeffers represented the tying run in the Blue Jays' eventual 6-4 victory. The Umpire Scorecard account reported that Baker called 132 of 149 pitches (88.6%) correctly, the 15th-worst performance of any umpire this year. However, both accounts agreed that the Jeffers incident marked the game's most significant missed call. Advertisement Whether Baker missed 17 or 19 missed calls, social media users demanded the league fire the 43-year-old ump. "Fire all the umps," one fan wrote. "Bring on the computers." Added another: "Cheat ump that deserves to be fired." Numerous users argued that Baker's height, at 6 feet 7 inches, could impact his ability to call balls and strikes accurately. Baker is the tallest active MLB umpire, and he's correctly called just over 94% of pitches in 12 games this year. Home plate umpire Jordan Baker in 2024Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images 'He is notorious for missing pitches below the knees,' an X user argued. 'But [the Major League Baseball Umpires Association] ignores this problem & he continues to have trouble calling the low pitches.' Advertisement 'He's clearly positioned too low,' commented another. 'His head is below the catchers. How does he expect to see those low pitches accurately?' Unfortunately for the Twins, they've been involved in two of the worst umpire performances thus far. Adrian Johnson missed 23 of 130 calls (nearly 17.7%) in the Twins' 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on May 10. 'But he won't be punished fined or suspended for incompetence,' read one reply. Related: Calls Mount for Umpire's Immediate Firing After Rangers-Rays Game Related: Fans Outraged at Umpire Over Calls in Phillies-Athletics This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Players Call for MLB to Avoid Drastic Rule Change
Players Call for MLB to Avoid Drastic Rule Change originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Major League Baseball fans have spent the past three months demanding the league adopt the Automated Ball-Strike System, perhaps as early as this year's postseason. Advertisement We know how the fans and social media users feel, but what about the players themselves? Great question. The Athletic published a player poll on Wednesday, asking 134 respondents if they're in favor of 'robo-umps' calling balls and strikes. Surprisingly, 63.4% said they're against having technology dictate what is and is not a strike. 'If the umpires leave the game,' an AL starting pitcher said, 'I don't want to be a part of it.' Added a National League pitcher: 'Why would you remove the human element? The game will fundamentally change in a way that fans are definitely not going to like.' MLB umpire Shane Livensparger (43) and New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón (55) discuss a call on June 6, 2025John Jones-Imagn Images More players said that they were unsure (19.4%) about the ABS than they were in favor (17.2%) of the change. Advertisement Social media accounts like @UmpireAuditor and @UmpScorecards use data to hold umpires accountable. The @UmpireAuditor page found that umpires blew 954 calls, including 52 strikeouts, from June 2-8. As is typically the case in player polls, none of the players quoted were named. All quotes were anonymous, allowing players to express their concerns about the ABS and its potential impact. Some players, naturally, cited the strike zone itself. 'I used it years ago when I was in the Fall League,' a hitter recalled. 'Guys would bounce curveballs that somehow nicked the zone. It hit the plate, but it's a strike somehow?' Advertisement Others suggested that the ABS could hurt catchers, especially those who rely on their glove and framing ability to stick around. 'That's our food, stealing strikes,' one catcher said. Several players even defended umpires, the same ones with whom they clash over controversial calls. 'When that guy's having a good game and we're on the same page and everything's clicking, that's [expletive] baseball,' one NL pitcher said. 'We don't need a freaking robot.' Related: Outraged Fans Call for Umpire Jordan Baker's Firing After Blue Jays-Twins Game Related: Fans Outraged at Umpire Over Calls in Phillies-Athletics This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox Sports
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
MLB could introduce Automated Ball-Strike System in 2026 season
Computer technology to appeal ball/strike calls could be in place for the 2026 regular season. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the use of the Automated Ball-Strike System was likely to be considered by the 11-man competition committee, which includes six management representatives. During a spring training experiment in 288 games, teams were successful on 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges using the Automated Ball-Strike System. "I do think that we're going to pursue the possibility of change in that process and we'll see what comes out at the end of that," Manfred said. "The teams are really positive about ABS. I do have that unscientific system that I use: my email traffic. And my distinct impression is that using ABS in spring training has made people more prone to complain of balls and strike calls via email to me referencing the need for ABS." An experiment with a technology system to challenge checked-swing calls started in the Class A Florida State League on May 20. That is not under consideration for MLB use in 2026. "I think we've got to get over the hump in terms of either doing ABS or not doing it before you'd get into the complication of a separate kind of challenge," Manfred said. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Chicago Tribune
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
President Donald Trump's support of Pete Rose among the voices Rob Manfred listened to in lifting MLB ban
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump's support of Pete Rose was among the factors Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred weighed when he decided last month that permanent bans by the sport ended with death, which allows the career hits leader to be considered for the Hall of Fame. Manfred announced the new interpretation on May 13, a decision that allows Rose and 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson to be considered for a Hall committee vote in December 2027. 'The president was one of a number of voices that was supportive of the idea that this was the right decision,' Manfred said Wednesday during a news conference at an owners meeting. 'Obviously, I have respect for the office and the advice that he gave I paid attention to, but I had a lot of other people that were weighing in on the topic, as well.' Rose and then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti agreed to a permanent ban in August 1989 after an MLB-commissioned investigation concluded Rose repeatedly bet on the Cincinnati Reds as a player and manager for the team from 1985-87, a violation of a long-standing MLB rule. The Hall of Fame in 1991 decided people on the permanent banned list were ineligible for consideration. 'Those who really think about the reasons that I did it think that it is the right decision, and other people I think largely get confused with whether he's going to be in the Hall of Fame or not and maybe don't think that was so good,' Manfred said. Computer technology to appeal ball/strike calls could be in place for the 2026 regular season. Manfred said use of the Automated Ball-Strike System was likely to be considered by the 11-man competition committee, which includes six management representatives. During a spring training experiment in 288 games, teams were successful on 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges using the ABS System. An experiment with a technology system to challenge checked-swing calls started in the Class A Florida State League on May 20. That is not under consideration for MLB use in 2026. 'I think we've got to get over the hump in terms of either doing ABS or not doing it before you'd get into the complication of a separate kind of challenge,' Manfred said. Baseball is returning to the Olympics in 2028 after being played from 1992-2008 and then in 2021. MLB is considering whether to allow big-league players to be used at the 2028 Games. It did not allow players on 40-man rosters to participate in the 2021 Olympics, and many teams discouraged top eligible prospects from playing. 'We made some progress with LA 2028 in terms of what it could look like,' Manfred said. 'We have some other business partners that we need to talk to about, changes that would need to be made in order to accommodate the Olympics. I think we're going to go forward with that process.' Manfred said the players union appears to be supportive. A decision on MLB's bargaining positions with the players association, including whether to propose a salary cap, will be made after this season. Bargaining is likely to start in spring 2026 for a successor to the five-year agreement with the union that ended a 99-day lockout on March 10, 2022. The deal expires on Dec. 1, 2026. An ownership economic study committee was formed in early 2023, sparking speculation about a renewed push for a salary-cap system aimed at decreasing payroll disparity. 'Payroll disparity is such a fact of life among the ownership group that there's not a lot of need for talking about whether we have it or not. Everybody kind of gets it,' Manfred said. 'We understand that it has become a bigger problem for us, but there has not been a lot of conversation about that particular topic.' When MLB proposed a cap in 1994, players struck for 7½ months in 1994 and '95, leading to the first cancellation of the World Series since 1904. 'Obviously over the winter we're going to have to decide what is going to be out there from our perspective, but no decisions on that topic so far,' Manfred said. MLB hopes to reach a deal before the All-Star break on a Sunday night national broadcast package and for the Home Run Derby to replace the agreement ESPN said in February it was ending after this season. Manfred said MLB is negotiating with three parties and is weighing traditional broadcasters and streaming services, which may pay more but have a smaller audience. Manfred regrets giving ESPN the right to opt out, which is causing a negotiation for rights lasting three seasons. MLB's contracts with Fox and Turner end after the 2028 season. 'If you're talking about what we're doing for the next three years, I would overweight reach,' Manfred said. 'The larger negotiation we'll have for the post-'28 period and we continue to believe that reach drives our live business.' The Tampa Bay Rays hope to return to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., next season after playing home games this year across the bay at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the New York Yankees' spring training home. The St. Petersburg City Council approved $22.5 million in April to repair the roof, destroyed by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9. A new roof is being built in Germany and will be shipped to Florida. 'Repair of the stadium is moving along. We remain optimistic that we will be ready either for opening day or very shortly thereafter,' Manfred said. 'Obviously, the big contingency is what happens with hurricane season.' A formal groundbreaking hasn't taken place for the Athletics' planned ballpark to open in 2028, though work is being done at the site and a ceremony could be held this month. 'My understanding is they believe they're going to make opening day '28,' Manfred said. Attendance averaged 28,081 through Tuesday and 900 dates, up 1.4% from 27,687 through the same point last year, when MLB finished with a 0.9% rise to 29,568 for its highest average since 30,042 in 2017. MLB could finish with an average increase in three straight years not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time since 2004-07. While MLB is not concerned about Trump administration tariffs raising the cost of big-league baseballs, which are manufactured in Costa Rica, the impact on minor-league balls is a concern. 'The minor-league baseball is made in China. That's more of an issue,' Manfred said.\
