Fans might love it. Players might eventually learn to love it (if they do not already). But umpires are going to hate Major League Baseball’s new ABS challenge system for balls and strikes. At least as long as it makes them look bad.
That is exactly what happened to home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor on Saturday in the Cincinnati Reds’ 6-5 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Umpire CB Bucknor had brutal day calling balls and strikes
Bucknor had eight different calls challenged on Saturday, including a whopping six of them that were overturned by the challenge system.
The most stunning sequence of the game came in the top of the sixth inning. It was then that Bucknor punched Cincinnati’s Eugenio Suarez out on consecutive called third strikes, only to have Suarez immediately challenge both pitches and have them be overturned after review.
The crowd roared with approval each time.