Two of the Giants' biggest stars have differing views on a polarizing topic in the baseball world.
On Tuesday before the All-Star Game at Globe Life Field, league commissioner Rob Manfred reinforced his stance on the automated ball-strike system that will be tested at the MLB level in spring training next year, claiming that it is "viable" an automated strike zone could be in place by 2026.
The San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea spoke with Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb during All-Star Week about the ABS system, with the young ace offering an honest view of the inevitable change.
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“To be honest with you,” Webb told Shea, “I think I get the most called strikes out of the zone in baseball, so probably not. I would like to keep it how it is.”
As Shea pointed out, Webb led all MLB pitchers in called strikes (433) before Friday's series against the Colorado Rockies, according to Statcast.
However, in his first start of the second half in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field, Webb might not have received much help from home plate umpire Chris Conroy.
San Francisco Giants
Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos, who is familiar with the ABS system from its implementation at the Triple-A level this season, offered a slightly different view than Webb.
“I don’t like a machine calling it,” Ramos told Shea. “I like the umpire calling it, but I’d like to be able to challenge his calls, too. I had it in the minors, and I like it. The umpire can make a mistake, and we can make a mistake with a challenge. Either way, we can take care of it right then and there.”
The ABS challenge system, which current and former minor-leaguers like Ramos are familiar with, is a hybrid approach to traditional umpiring and an automated strike zone. Umpires call balls and strikes like normal, but players have a limited number of pitches they can challenge per game.
To challenge, a batter simply taps his helmet, and the call is reviewed within seconds using Hawk-Eye camera technology.
The ABS challenge system is proving to be effective in the minor leagues and it only will be a matter of time before Webb, Ramos and the Giants use it at the major-league level.
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