Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle said on Wednesday that Tinney has the authority to appeal balls and strikes through the conference’s new automated ball-strike system. The SEC is experimenting with its ABS system — which is similar to the set-up used by Major League Baseball — at this year’s conference tournament, which got underway on Tuesday. The Longhorns are off until Friday’s quarterfinal round.
“I was just inside watching Florida play (Vanderbilt), and their catcher just got one back for their team,” Schlossnagle said. “So I’m excited to watch Tinney do his thing back there.”
Teams will start each game at the SEC Tournament with three challenges. If a pitcher, catcher or hitter disagrees with a called ball or called strike, they can immediately challenge the ruling. An automated tracking system will either uphold or reverse the call, and a team keeps its challenge if it is successful.
Tinney has started 44 times behind the plate this season, so the junior naturally knows a thing or two about the strike zone. He told reporters that he also called balls and strikes during some of UT’s recent simulated games as a way of preparing for these ABS challenges.
“That’s my practice for knowing the zone,” Tinney said. “So far it’s been good, but I guess we’ll see this weekend.”
According to the SEC, teams had gone 27-for-42 on their ABS challenges through the first six games of the conference tournament. Catchers called for 35 of those challenges, and Missouri’s Mateo Serna had been successful on eight of his nine appeals.
“I think it’s great,” Schlossnagle said. “It’s kind of a tease, because I don’t know how we put it all through college baseball. It’s expensive, it’s a big process. I don’t know how much all that stuff costs, but I think it’s been great. It’s been fun to watch. It seems like the umpires are handling it well.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, no pitcher had appealed a call at the SEC Tournament. That won’t happen when a Texas pitcher is on the mound. Schlossnagle said he won’t let the UT pitchers challenge calls because pitchers are “too emotional and too far away.”
Texas hitters will be allowed to appeal calls, but Schlossnagle will have rules for his batters to follow. Batters are 3-for-7 on their challenges so far.
“I think I’m confident with the zone,” freshman outfielder Anthony Pack Jr. said. “There’s a time to do it. It’s going to be cool seeing other teams do it against us to see if they’re right or wrong. So, it’s going to be cool.”
Texas (40-12) is the No. 2 seed in the SEC bracket. The Longhorns will meet either No. 7 Arkansas (36-19) or No. 10 Tennessee (38-19), who were playing on Wednesday, in the conference quarterfinals.