re: Automated Ball Strike Challenges for SEC Tourney

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Yeah, the balls where the seams clip the black - I just don't consider those strikes but the ABS system does.

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I didn't realize ABS gave you the black.
by rule, ball is supposed to pass over the white. even if "just a seam" grazes the white.

A lot of people online annoyed about this. If youre annoyed by it you havent watched enough SEC baseball

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I didn't realize ABS gave you the black.
by rule, ball is supposed to pass over the white. even if "just a seam" grazes the white.

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It's my understanding that it does.

I'll go a bit farther in that some folks think ABS is 100% accurate. It's not....I'd argue it's not even 99 or 98% accurate. Better than humans, yes but there are several reasons why it's fallable as well the top two being:

The models that they use to create individual strike zones for each player might be different next time the guy comes to bat - batters CONSTANTLY change their stances and posture.

The data used to input into the system is input by humans via and interpretation of the strike zone based at least to some extent on some subjectivity.

Throw in that the system can be affected by reflection, wind, vibration, etc. and while it's certainly better than CB Buckner and Angel Hernandez, it is not perfect.

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I guess the rule is pretty clear, but I’d be interested to see a chart of where the average batter makes instantaneous contact. Front, center, or back. If I had to guess I would say most make contact closer to center..

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most will actually make contact just in front of the plate (assuming they timed it right)

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Also, that graphic shows movement in the horizontal plane but I guess im also thinking of vertical plane.. which is probably easier to see from the umpire’s perspective. The rate that some breaking balls drop is gnarly so I could definitely see situations where it’s a strike at front of the plate, but not at back.

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here's my attempt at getting it from every angle



height from pitcher's point of view:




view from directly overhead





view from opposite batter's box-ish (I couldn't find one perfectly squared up)
red line is bottom of kneecap (strike zone)
blue line is roughly midpoint of plate (where ABS reads)
Green line is roughly front of the plate.
yellow line is my shitty attempt at path of a baseball as it drops en route to plate




by literally every written definition of the rule, all 3 of these are strikes because any part of the ball crossing over any part of the plate (not just the part of the plate even with parts of the batter) at the proper height is a strike..

fans, batters, and even ABS all would think they are balls.
the catcher is likely blocking this one in the dirt really close to opposite batters box.

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There are going to be a lot of successful challenges

College umpires largely suck

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Yes, should be interesting. I think overall in the MLB it's right about 50/50 on challenges. College players might not be that good at it either. That will be the interesting part which guys Jay tells "I don't want you challenging ever"!!

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I've seen the percentages thrown around even saw one chart that showed the umpires that had the highest percentage of wrong calls, etc.

but I'd really want to see a breakdown of how "close" were their missed calls.

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Good point, I'd go as far as to say the first one ain't a strike.

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I'd go as far as to say the first one ain't a strike.

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since ABS uses the black of the plate, you're right....it's probably not a strike.



found the graphic with MLB umpire rankings in early April of this year





but since ABS literally shows how far/close the ball was, I think that info should be given along with how many misses.

if one umpire gets 75% of his call over turned, and his misses are by less than half an inch, he's still better than an umpire who has 65% of his call over turned, but is off by 2" on most of those misses,

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I bet A LOT more pitches arw correct than we think. When watching on TV it is tough to always see from an angle. Even with the box you have to remember that the box is 3D, not 2D.

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The Cubs announcer that is a former pitcher thinks pitchers are too emotional about their pitches and probably shouldn't make the challenge, leaving it up to the catcher.

| Role | Typical success rate |
| ------------ | -------------------- |
| **Catchers** | ~56–62% |
| **Hitters** | ~46–50% |
| **Pitchers** | ~41–45% |

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| Role | Typical success rate |
| ------------ | -------------------- |
| **Catchers** | ~56–62% |
| **Hitters** | ~46–50% |
| **Pitchers** | ~41–45% |

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even taking emotion out of it, these numbers make sense.
basically the better your point of view of a pitch crossing the plate, the better you are at challenging them.