Tampa Bay Rays catcher Ben Rortvedt tried to pull a fast one on MLB's new Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system on Friday afternoon.
In the bottom of the third inning of a matchup against the New York Yankees, Rays right-handed pitcher Eric Orze fired a 3-2 changeup high above the strike zone. When the home plate umpire called ball four to award a walk to Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., Rortvedt tapped his helmet to challenge the call.
After a few moments, ABS confirmed that, yes, the pitch crossed home plate high above the strike zone and was properly called a ball.
Ben Rortvedt tried challenging this called ball against Jazz but was unsuccessful 😅
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) February 21, 2025
(via @PitchingNinja)pic.twitter.com/H0UnyeO0wT
The pitch tracker on MLB's Gameday agreed with the umpire and ABS that the seventh pitch of the at-bat was far above the strike zone. But to be fair, Orze did get Chisholm to chase a fastball high up in the zone earlier in the at-bat.
It'll be interesting to watch MLB's ABS experiment unfold throughout spring training as it will be utilized in about 60% of the exhibitions in Florida and Arizona.
Teams are awarded two challenges apiece at the beginning of each game and can utilize them whenever they'd like to challenge a ball or strike call. If the challenge is successful, the call is overturned and the team keeps the challenge. However, in the Rays' case, Rortvedt was wrong, so they lost a challenge and Chisholm still trotted to first base with a walk.
The ABS won't be in effect in the regular season—at least not in 2025. But if it does get implemented in the future, there will be plenty of head-scratching challenges like Rortvedt's attempt on Friday.
Hey, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rays Catcher Boldly Challenges Umpire's Call Way Out of Strike Zone.
