2026 MLB Talk & Such

[JSngry]

I saw that first ABS challenge today and didn't mind it. This time.

[Dan Gould]

ABS made a big difference in Bosox game ... inning ending strikeout turned into inning-extending walk, followed immediately by two RBI singles that turned 1-0 game into 3-0 game.

I was actually surprised that Cincinnati had challenges left in their half of the 9th, as the strikezone box suggested at least two bad strike calls by the ump.  Did they hold off because none of them were strike 3 or on a 3 ball count? Chapman got 3 flyouts and I don't think he got to 3 balls.

New world.

[GA Russell]

 

[ghost of miles]

Of course I'm lovin' ASB for the sake of Aaron Judge alone--Yankee fans have long been anticipating its implementation, given his usually MLB-leading status for most balls-called-strikes pretty much since his full-time debut in 2017. Crazy that that first challenge of his was only 1/10 of an inch below the zone, but it changed the nature of the at-bat to his advantage, and he went on to homer in a 3-2 count. 

But I'm also enjoying checking out the clips of ASB in action around all of MLB, and it seems the fans at the games are generally enthusiastic about it? It does add a few more moments of replay drama and uncertainty to the game, and it's much quicker than a play challenge. And I'm not going to miss Aaron Boone and other managers screaming as much at the umps over blown calls or multiple blown calls, though it's pretty hilarious that we've already had a manager thrown out over an ASB challenge... but he was objecting on the grounds that the batter had not tapped his helmet quickly enough. *There* lay the potential for future manager/umpire dust-ups over ball-and-strike calls, if that is one's thing. 

I'll also be interested to see, as the season develops, whether the outcomes of ASB challenges end up statistically favoring pitchers or hitters, or if the outcomes are roughly equal. 

[Patrick]

Chase DeLauter!!

[Ken Dryden]

If they still have kangaroo courts in clubhouses, players will be fining those who lose ABS challenges in good fun.

[Dan Gould]

1-5 to start the season, Crochet can't even help them, reverse image of the mf-ing Yankees and it really SUCKS to say NO BASEBALL til further notice on fucking April 2nd.

[ghost of miles]

While I was thoroughly delighted to see Giancarlo Stanton, of all people, manufacture a small-ball run last night, this undoubtedly was the highlight of yesterday’s MLB games:

Adell robs 3 HRs in one game

[jlhoots]

I saw some challenges yesterday where calls were overturned by 0.4 to 0.1 inches.

[GA Russell]

 

[Dan Gould]

Without a doubt, the greatest Jomboy breakdown of all time.

 

Also, RIP Davey Lopes.

[ghost of miles]

Whoa...

... and hard disagree with the rule that umps used to judge this a base hit. If the ball had fallen out of Gilbert's shirt and hit the ground, OK, but he retained control, weird as the circumstances may have been. How is this different from a ball hitting a fielder in the chest or elsewhere, and then he still catches it in his glove or hand? And if it's ruled a hit, why, with runners on first and third, did the umps advance the runner on first but kept the runner on third where he was? According to the article below, a ball that gets caught in a player's or coach's uniform is considered "out of play." So then how does this turn into a single? 

Why Gilbert's shirt catch was ruled a hit

Obviously not a situation MLB is likely to encounter again any time soon, if ever, but still seems like a wrong outcome to me, and it did affect the game--A's went on to score two runs that innning, though Mariners ultimately prevailed in a 5-4 walkoff. 

Edited 1 hour ago by ghost of miles