NEW YORK — Robot umpires overturned 54% of challenged calls in the first season of the Automated Ball-Strike Systemas catchers were far more successful than batters.<\/p>\n
Learning when to challenge is key.<\/p>\n
The Cincinnati Reds<\/a> had a net gain of 16.8 runs, according to Baseball Savant calculations of total run value of overturns on challenges. The Los Angeles Angels<\/a> were next at 14, followed by the Athletics<\/a> (12.3) and Minnesota Twins<\/a> (10.1).<\/p>\n The Cleveland Guardians were 30th at minus-13.4, and several other playoff teams — the Dodgers<\/a> (26th, -8.5), Rays<\/a> (25th, -7.8), Cubs<\/a> (21st, -4.6), Brewers<\/a> (20th, -2.4), Braves<\/a> (18th, -2.1), Padres<\/a> (17th, -1.9), Yankees<\/a> (16th, -2.1) and Astros<\/a> (15th, -0.8) –rated poorly by that metric.<\/p>\n Houston’s Jose Altuve<\/a> topped batters with 5.6 projected runs gained, followed by Seattle<\/a>‘s Cal Raleigh<\/a> (4.6), Colorado<\/a>‘s Kyle Karros<\/a> (4.5) and Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart<\/a> (4.4) and JJ Bleday<\/a> (4.1).<\/p>\n The Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki<\/a> led with 5.7 runs projected lost in defensive challenges, just ahead of the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani<\/a> (5.5), Cubs’ Ian Happ<\/a> (5.2) and Michael Busch<\/a> (5.1), andMets<\/a>‘ Brett Baty<\/a> (3.5).<\/p>\n Milwaukee’s William Contreras<\/a> led catchers with 5.2 projected runs prevented, just in front of Cleveland’s Patrick Bailey<\/a> (5.1), the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez<\/a> (4.5) and San Diego’s Freddy Fermin<\/a>, Kansas City<\/a>‘s Carter Jensen<\/a> and Drew Romo of the Chicago White Sox<\/a> (all 4.3).<\/p>\n “It’s like a new muscle for players to learn,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “You have instincts over what to do in certain situations. This is a new instinct of knowing when to challenge and instinctively within a second, oh, that’s a ball. What’s the situation?”<\/p>\n There were 10,557 challenges, an average of 4.35 per game, and 5,686 led to overturned decisions.<\/p>\n Catchers succeeded on 59% of their challenges, while batters had a 49% success rate and pitchers — who seldom challenged compared to catchers and batters — were at 40%.<\/p>\n “ABS has really impacted the game,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “It has really changed how more selective some of these lineups are, how more disciplined they are, how we force pitchers to be more aggressive in the zone more than in the past.”<\/p>\n Contreras led all catchers with 185 challenges, and he also won the most with 105 (57%). Meanwhile, Philadelphia<\/a>‘s J.T. Realmuto<\/a> had the highest success rate among catchers with at least 75 challenges at 81%. He was followed by the Cubs’ Carson Kelly<\/a> (69%), Cincinnati’s Tyler Stephenson<\/a> and Colorado’s Hunter Goodman<\/a> (68% each), and Detroit<\/a>‘s Dillon Dingler<\/a> (66%).<\/p>\n Realmuto added the first game-ending ABS challenge in postseason history this week, successfully flipping a call to end Game 2 of the Phillies’ NL Wild Card Series against the Braves.<\/p>\n The lowest percentages among those with 75 or more challenges were Alvarez (47%), Fermin, Romo (48%) and Edgar Quero<\/a> of the White Sox (49%).<\/p>\n Stewart led batter challenges with 51 appeals and won 28 (55%). Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper<\/a> was next with 47, winning 21 (45%).<\/p>\n On success rate, Arizona<\/a>‘s Gabriel Moreno<\/a> (68%) led batters with 20 or more challenges, followed by Miami<\/a>‘s Esteury Ruiz<\/a> (65%), Raleigh (64%), Minnesota’s Josh Bell<\/a> and San Francisco<\/a>‘s Bryce Eldridge<\/a> (62% each).<\/p>\n Boston’s Ceddanne Rafaela<\/a> and Colorado’s Willi Castro<\/a> were at 25%, the lowest success rate among players with at least 20 challenges.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay’s Yandy D\u00edaz<\/a> had 686 plate appearances without attempting a challenge, by far the most in the majors by a batter, ahead of Toronto<\/a>‘s Nathan Lukes<\/a> (450). D\u00edaz has said he would consider challenging a call in the World Series.<\/p>\n Cincinnati’s 62% success rate led MLB, followed by the Athletics and Diamondbacks (60% each), Cubs (59%), Rangers<\/a> (58%), Tigers and Phillies (57% each) and Marlins<\/a> (56%).<\/p>\n The Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> were the least successful at 47%, with the White Sox and Guardians at 49% each and Orioles<\/a> and Padres at 50%.<\/p>\n “We’ll keep tweaking it, keep talking about it every day and keep trying to remind the players when we have challenges, when we don’t, when’s a good time, when’s not a good time,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said.<\/p>\n Knowing teams lose their right to challenge after two incorrect appeals, players used ABS less often early in games.<\/p>\n There were more challenges in the ninth than any other inning — sometimes because teams knew there would be no later innings to save them for — even though many games end without the bottom half. ABS was used in 1,366 ninth-inning challenges, with a 40% success rate.<\/p>\n “Having one in your pocket is kind of — it’s nice to know you have it,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said.<\/p>\n The average for innings 1-3 was 1,005 challenges with a 61% success rate.<\/p>\n Teams also got more aggressive as the season went on. Challenges per game rose from 3.76 in March to 4.60 in August and 4.61 in September, with most of that increase in catcher appeals.<\/p>\n “You can overthink it if you let yourself,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. “You start talking about saving it for certain situations, it probably doesn’t end well. My message was the lower the leverage, the more certainty you have to have.”<\/p>\n