Believe It or Not, the ABS System Has Benefited the Brewers

[Matthew Trueblood]

1 hour ago, Playing Catch said:

Most of us played enough to understand the tension of a two-strike count, and heard over and over, "too close to take," This has been my attitude toward missed calls against a hitter. When the hitter (a human), gives up their opportunity to swing at a close pitch, they are foregoing their first opportunity to "challenge" a pitch, allowing the umpire (another human) to make the decision for them. ABS has given hitters a "take-back," on their original decision to keep the bat on their shoulder.

I have more symptathy for pitchers that throw a strike that gets called a ball.

In the (related) conversation about whether pitch-framing is somehow cheating or is otherwise dishonorable, I've always put it this way: The hitter has agency in the whole thing, already, because he could have swung. Being mad at umps over missed ball-strike calls is like being mad at basketball refs over block/charge calls. And being mad at catchers for framing well is like being mad at a defender you think flopped. Either way, the player you're treating as a sainted victim (that charging dribbler or the defender who took the hit, depending which way the call broke, or the batter who took the pitch) forced the official to get involved. There was a way to resolve the play that didn't leave it up to them. Sometimes, it's absolutely the right choice to force the official to make a call, but you can't be mad when they do, and you can't be mad at the opposing player for doing everything they can to earn the call if you helped create the need for one to be made.

I digress, I think. But your comment stirred that old thought in my brain.