{"id":591590,"date":"2026-02-25T06:27:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T06:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/591590\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T06:27:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T06:27:19","slug":"abs-makes-umpire-look-awful-during-spring-training-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/591590\/","title":{"rendered":"ABS makes umpire look awful during spring training game"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System has been widely welcomed by Major League Baseball fans this spring in an effort to make sure that balls and strikes are called correctly. But it\u2019s sure to lead to some embarrassment and frustration for umpires as it exposes their incorrect calls.<\/p>\n

During Grapefruit League action on Tuesday in Fort Myers, the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates made home plate umpire Mitch Trzeciak look bad with a flurry of challenges.<\/p>\n

With one out in the bottom of the first, Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez challenged a pitch that was called a ball. The ABS review showed that it was clearly a strike.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that one, kind of right down the middle,\u201d NESN Red Sox play-by-play announcer Tom Caron said.<\/p>\n

This is why ABS was invented. \ud83e\udd23 pic.twitter.com\/RyHmz7BFOM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

That was one of five consecutive calls from Trzeciak that were overturned by ABS challenges before the end of the third inning. And three of them happened in just over an inning\u2019s worth of baseball.<\/p>\n

You think YOU\u2019VE had a bad day??<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s 5 Consecutive Calls overturned by ABS challenges.<\/p>\n

The cheer at the end. \ud83e\udd23 pic.twitter.com\/5EG0WLgm21<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve missed two, and one was right down the middle, and one was two inches outside, and you\u2019re like, \u2018Alright, I\u2019m having a bad day, and everybody knows it,’\u201d Caron said about after the second ABS challenge went against Trzeciak\u2019s call.<\/p>\n

When the ABS finally proved that Trzeciak got a call right in the fourth inning, a loud cheer was heard at JetBlue Park.<\/p>\n

Trzeciak was a Triple-A umpire in 2025, and the ABS probably isn\u2019t helping his chances to show that he should make the leap to the majors in 2026. But he certainly won\u2019t be the only umpire that the ABS makes look foolish in 2026.<\/p>\n

MLB umpires have gotten away with brutal ball-strike calls forever, but technology is now here to hold them accountable.<\/p>\n

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