abs system

PHOENIX — Flashing bleached hair under his cap as he settles in with his new team, Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz threw his first pitch of Thursday’s live bating practice session to Freddie Freeman. It was called a strike. As Díaz got set for his next pitch, Freeman tapped on his helmet in a playful attempt to challenge the call.

In response, Díaz tapped his cap twice.

These gestures will become the norm in major league baseball this season, starting this weekend, thanks to the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System.

Each team will begin games with two challenges, initiated by a pitcher, hitter or catcher tapping their head within seconds of the call — no dugout consultation allowed. The moment it’s challenged, a graphic will show the result of the challenge on the video board and once the call is confirmed or overturned, the game will go on.

Teams retain challenges when they’re successful and lose them when they’re not.

The added layer of strategy intrigues Stephen Nelson, the Dodgers’ radio play-by-play voice.

“As humans we are naturally resistant to change, especially baseball fans, and I say that as a baseball fan,” Nelson said this week at the team’s Camelback Ranch training facility. “So there’s definitely going to be that early period where everybody’s probably going to hate it, but you got to get through that.”

In recent years, MLB has tweaked the game — implementing a replay system to challenge calls on the field, placing a runner on second base to start extra innings, using a pitch clock. The ABS system has been tested in the minor leagues since 2022, and major leaguers got a taste of it during spring training last year and also in the All-Star Game.

In 288 spring games last year, there was an average of 4.1 challenges per game, adding an average of 57 seconds to it. Pitchers and catchers successfully overturned calls more often than hitters.

So who will be in charge of making challenges during at-bats?

“I will let the catcher dictate if he [wants] to challenge or not,” Díaz said this week. “I won’t do it … he’s been there all day long, they know the strike zone for the umpire.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was hesitant to say the club will have a hard rule on who can call for challenges. He feels more comfortable with his catcher doing it than a hitter or pitcher, but if a catcher decides to challenge, he expects them to be right.

“He better be right,” Roberts said Friday.

“It’s good that we’re practicing in spring, but we’re having conversations about leverage and how to use it to our advantage,” he added.

Roberts said if hitters want to make a call, they need to be honest with themselves about their personal knowledge of the strike zone and their baseball IQ and understand when to challenge a call and when not to.

“There’s no perfect science to it, but we’re just going to keep talking about it, trying to educate our guys,” he said.

Luis Cruz, a former player and now a Spanish-language announcer for the Dodgers, said hitters don’t need to be thinking about challenging a call.

“I don’t want to have another thing in my mind … then you lose your focus on your at-bat,” he said.

Jackson Ferris to start Sunday’s game

Left-hander Jackson Ferris, the Dodgers’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2024, will start Sunday’s game against the San Diego Padres at the Peoria Sports Complex.

Ferris, acquired along with outfield prospect Zyhir Hope from the Chicago Cubs for Michael Busch two years ago, logged a 3.86 ERA and 1.46 walks plus hits per inning pitched across 26 games and 126 innings at double-A Tulsa last season.

“I like Jackson,” Roberts said. “I like the player. He’s a good kid. A lot of talent. I think for me, it’s just trying to harness his arsenal. It’s a good fastball. He needs to continue to get ahead, be able to put hitters away with the secondary pitches, be efficient with his pitches per inning, but I like Jackson. He’s really talented. He’s scratching the surface, but he’s gotta go out there and perform, so I’m excited to see him on Sunday, and throughout the spring.”