The Automatic Balls and Strikes (ABS) challenge system can't come soon enough for Major League Baseball. In recent years, we have seen umpires make some very egregious calls behind the plate. MLB could possibly implement the system as soon as 2026, but it's long overdue. The league's umpires continue to miss some very evident ball and strike calls and are never held accountable for it.
Instead, managers and players get ejected, and the umpires seemingly believe the game revolves around them. Almost everybody around the league has voiced their displeasure with umpires in recent years.
On Wednesday night, Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler was called out on strikes on a questionable call, and following the game, he didn't hold back when voicing his opinion.
"ABS, I’m fed up with the umpires," said Butler following Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins. "I’ve had enough with the umpires. They miss too many calls both ways. They call strikes balls and balls strikes."
Butler's take is certainly a reasonable one, and it's also one that Rob Manfred and the commissioner's office cannot afford to ignore.
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MLB must take action after Lawrence Butler calls out umpires
The time has come for Major League Baseball to take action here. This has been going on for far too long, and umpires are never held accountable for their sloppiness in making calls. Butler is simply echoing the concerns of almost everybody around the league, and it's time for MLB to stop sitting around and actually do something about it.
"When you look at Triple-A, the umpires are a little bit more cautious of what pitches they call because they know a pitcher or a hitter might challenge it and it might embarrass them, so they might be a little more cautious to pull that trigger. I feel like up here, they don’t give a [expletive]," Butler continued.
It certainly seems as though the umpires at the MLB level don't care about their missed calls or even acknowledge that they made mistakes. Players and coaches are the ones paying the price for the missed calls. Occasionally, an umpire will own up to their mistake, but more often than not, it results in players being tossed from games and umpires not being held accountable.
But it's time for that to change. Manfred simply can't ignore what Butler is saying. We've seen it in other sports: Once a replay system is put into place, every player starts demanding increased accountability. Now that the technology is here to automate the strike zone in at least a limited capacity, there won't be any patience for the "human element," at least not where professionals trying to fight for their livelihoods are concerned. The dam has broken, and Manfred needs to move quickly or risk a revolt.