Baseball’s automated ball-strike challenge system will be given a trial run at the collegiate level this year, and one Mississippi coach thinks it could be a positive if implemented correctly
The NCAA’s Baseball Rules Committee approved Monday the Southeastern Conference’s proposal to implement ABS in the upcoming conference tournament in Hoover, Ala. Mississippi State head coach Brian O’Connor told SportsTalk Mississippi before the decision he believes the challenge system could be a benefit if implemented the right way.
“I think if it’s introduced the right way, it could be a positive thing,” O’Connor said.
If you’ve tuned into a major league baseball game this year, chances are you’ve seen a player tapping his hat or helmet, signaling that he did not agree with an umpire’s call. When a player does that, he is vying to have ABS review the call. The apparatus monitors the exact location of each pitch, relative to the specific batter’s zone and determines whether or not the call was right.
ABS was first introduced in the independent Atlantic League in 2019, then worked its way to the MLB-affiliated minors before making it to the big leagues this year as a means to make the game more efficient. In the MLB, a pitcher, catcher, or batter can call for a review with each team being given two reviews.
O’Connor’s concern for ABS at the collegiate level is that, if extended to players, it could lead to emotional challenges being called by athletes who have not quite matured. In Hoover, a pitcher, catcher, and batter will have a maximum of three seconds to dispute a call. After that, a challenge will not be granted.
“In the major leagues, the catcher, the batter, and the pitcher all get to make that decision. What I wonder is can 18 to 23-year-olds pull the emotion out of it? When they get upset that they think a pitch is a ball, and, more times than not, it was actually a strike,” O’Connor added. “I think the implementation of it will be very important.”
The SEC Tournament is set to run from May 19-24. Joining Mississippi State in the field of teams competing will be Ole Miss. As things stand, the Bulldogs (36-12, 14-10 SEC) are the No. 11 team in the nation, while the Rebels (32-17, 12-12 SEC) rank No. 20.
