In most facets of life, I am in favor of holding on to anything that can be human-operated for as long as possible. No, I don't want Ch*tG*T to take my writing job. No, I don't want an algorithm deciding who does or does not deserve healthcare. No, I don't want a robot bringing me lemonade at a restaurant.
When I watch a game like Phillies vs. Giants on Monday night, though... I could potentially be talked into robots giving a little assistance to home plate umpires in the MLB. They shouldn't fully take over — but a little assistance from the ABS wouldn't hurt anyone, right? Let's work in tandem with our future royalty, and not... whatever this is.
Anyway, the Phillies didn't lose because of a bad strike zone; they scored one run, and that won't win many MLB games. But they surely weren't helped by Phil Cuzzi's strike zone, which seemed to be about eight feet wide for Bryce Harper specifically, and the size of a pinhead for Matt Chapman in the eighth inning.
Sometimes the pitches aren't exactly where the MLB gamecast says they are; in this case... they were. If anything, these pitches were better than they appear. To quote the Phillies broadcast about the Chapman at-bat, "He's literally struck him out three times."
Phil Cuzzi should never be allowed to umpire another game again. This is atrocious and completely unacceptable. #Phillies @MLBUA pic.twitter.com/1Vy97V5VBU
— Matt Higgins (@MattHiggins80) July 8, 2025
Bryce Harper was twice the victim of Cuzzi's confusing strike zone — the one above wasn't even the worst of them!
ABS is long overdue in MLB
I'm not the first to call for ABS — in fact, fans do it every time they get hosed by a bad strike call — and I certainly won't be the last. Plus, a non-division MLB game on July 7th is, in the grand scheme, not going to change the outcome of the season for the Phillies (I don't think). But that's not the point, really; we have the technology to keep this from happening. Other sports use it! And in a league that's been willing to experiment in recent years, why is this the thing its hung up on? We got a pitch clock (which you'll never sell me on, so don't even try) but umpires are still allowed to dictate the outcome of games completely. That's old school, I guess. It's also just silly.
Can the league implement ABS during the All-Star Break? I know that sounds like a joke, but I'm not kidding. Why wait any longer? We tried it in Spring Training, and we've seen it work in the minors. Start it up! Why do we need an offseason to implement rules that we know would improve the game? Give the umpires some training over the break and let's stop games like tonight's from happening.