Robot umpires flip 54% of challenged calls in ABS debut as teams learn to time appeals

New York (AP) - Robot umpires overturned 54% of challenged calls during the inaugural season of the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS), while catchers proved more successful than batters.

The Cincinnati Reds gained a net 16.8 runs from overturned challenges, followed by the Los Angeles Angels with 14 and the Athletics with 12.3. Several playoff teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee, Atlanta, San Diego, New York Yankees, and Houston, underperformed in this metric.

Cincinnati's Jose Altuve led batters with 5.6 projected runs gained, while Seattle's Cal Raleigh, Colorado's Kyle Karros, Cincinnati's Sal Stewart, and JJ Bleday followed closely. The Cubs' Seiya Suzuki had the highest projected runs lost in defensive challenges at 5.7, ahead of the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, Cubs' Ian Happ, Michael Busch, and New York Mets' Brett Baty.

Catchers had a 59% success rate in challenges, outperforming batters' 49% success rate and pitchers' 40%. Padres' Craig Stammen noted that players became more aggressive with ABS challenges in late innings, as they knew they had limited opportunities to challenge after losing the right to do so twice due to incorrect appeals.