{"id":187050,"date":"2026-02-21T03:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T03:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/187050\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T03:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T03:29:11","slug":"what-to-expect-with-mlbs-abs-system-and-how-dodgers-will-navigate-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/187050\/","title":{"rendered":"What to expect with MLB’s ABS system, and how Dodgers will navigate it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PHOENIX\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Flashing bleached hair under his cap as he settles in with his new team, Dodgers<\/a> closer Edwin D\u00edaz<\/a> threw his first pitch of Thursday\u2019s live bating practice session to Freddie Freeman<\/a>. It was called a strike. As D\u00edaz got set for his next pitch, Freeman tapped on his helmet in a playful attempt to challenge the call.<\/p>\n

In response, D\u00edaz tapped his cap twice. <\/p>\n

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

Each team will begin games with two challenges, initiated by a pitcher, hitter or catcher tapping their head within seconds of the call \u2014 no dugout consultation allowed. The moment it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Teams retain challenges when they\u2019re successful and lose them when they\u2019re not.<\/p>\n

The added layer of strategy intrigues Stephen Nelson<\/a>, the Dodgers\u2019 radio play-by-play voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs humans we are naturally resistant to change, especially baseball fans, and I say that as a baseball fan,\u201d Nelson said this week at the team\u2019s Camelback Ranch training facility. \u201cSo there\u2019s definitely going to be that early period where everybody\u2019s probably going to hate it, but you got to get through that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent years, MLB has tweaked the game \u2014 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<\/a> and also in the All-Star Game<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

So who will be in charge of making challenges during at-bats?<\/p>\n

\u201cI will let the catcher dictate if he [wants] to challenge or not,\u201d D\u00edaz said this week. \u201cI won\u2019t do it \u2026 he\u2019s been there all day long, they know the strike zone for the umpire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe better be right,\u201d Roberts said Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good that we\u2019re practicing in spring, but we\u2019re having conversations about leverage and how to use it to our advantage,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no perfect science to it, but we\u2019re just going to keep talking about it, trying to educate our guys,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Luis Cruz<\/a>, a former player and now a Spanish-language announcer for the Dodgers, said hitters don\u2019t need to be thinking about challenging a call.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to have another thing in my mind \u2026 then you lose your focus on your at-bat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jackson Ferris to start Sunday\u2019s game<\/p>\n

Left-hander Jackson Ferris, the Dodgers\u2019 minor league pitcher of the year in 2024, will start Sunday\u2019s game against the San Diego Padres at the Peoria Sports Complex.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like Jackson,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI like the player. He\u2019s a good kid. A lot of talent. I think for me, it\u2019s just trying to harness his arsenal. It\u2019s 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\u2019s really talented. He\u2019s scratching the surface, but he\u2019s gotta go out there and perform, so I\u2019m excited to see him on Sunday, and throughout the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Flashing bleached hair under his cap as he settles in with his new team, Dodgers closer Edwin D\u00edaz…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[88017,9253,337,42333,88016,23982,426,4203,423,36294,10198,48,52,51,47,50,49,51440,4256,9150,424],"class_list":{"0":"post-187050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-abs-system","9":"tag-at-bat","10":"tag-call","11":"tag-catcher","12":"tag-challenge-system","13":"tag-diaz","14":"tag-dodgers","15":"tag-freddie-freeman","16":"tag-game","17":"tag-head","18":"tag-hitter","19":"tag-la","20":"tag-la-headlines","21":"tag-la-news","22":"tag-los-angeles","23":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","24":"tag-los-angeles-news","25":"tag-new-team","26":"tag-pitcher","27":"tag-recent-year","28":"tag-roberts"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}