What the data of the MLB Spring Robot-Supire test on the future of baseball say
If you have paid attention to spring training at any time of the last five weeks, you may have noticed something slightly different.
No, it wasn’t The edition of this year of the bright hatsAlthough those were certainly a punch in the eye. Rather, it was the presence of the automated sphere stroke system (ABS).
From time to time, a catcher, a pitcher or a batter touched their heads and a review of six seconds started. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.
Was it a novel? Yes, even if maybe not to Max Scherzer. Effective? Also, yes.
Alejandro Kirk’s frame is so smooth …
He deceived Max Scherzer. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/gs23rodluh
– Rob Friedman (@Pitchintninja) February 25, 2025
In response to a request for AtleticoMajor League Baseball has released ABS data from spring training, with comparisons with the results of the ball challenge from the triple season of last year.
Our task is to help give meaning to everything. Let’s immerse ourselves.
To start, most of the data reflects what we have seen in the Triple A level, although with some differences, largely due to the nature of the spring games, together with a positive net when it comes to long -term health of baseball.
The positive one is an increase in offense. This spring, the MLB teams have recorded an average of a higher number of racing per game (10.3) and a total of overall joke (.257) compared to 2024 (9.8 and .253, respectively).
The effects of the ABS are more visible in the overall percentage of Strikeout year on year (23.1 this spring against 24.2 last year) and walking rate (10.1 against 9.2 percent). In turn, this has led to multiple runs.
Put simply: more traffic, less strikeout and more racing are more fun.
According to data, in 288 spring games with ABS implementation, there were 4.1 challenges per game, with 2.6 percent of the shots called challenged, with an inverted percentage of 52.2.
That figure is slightly higher than the 3.9 challenges per game on 740 triple games in 2024, although the novelty of the system has probably played a role in the upstake.
For example, in his first start of spring, Scherzer was in particular two challenges in two inning. It wasn’t alone.
The MLB crimes questioned 4.4 percent of the shots and had a reversal rate of 50 %, while the defenses challenged 1.8 percent of the shots called with a success rate of 54.4 percent.
In other words, the defenses have had much more success despite less commitments. More specifically, the catcher opened the road with a reversal rate of 56 %, while their battles were 41 percent.
It shouldn’t be too surprising when you have backstop like Cal Raleigh which goes 9 out of 9 on the challenges of the ABS.
Cal Raleigh now has 9 by 9 on the challenges this spring. pic.twitter.com/ra4xqnsord
– Rob Friedman (@Pitchintninja) 23 March 2025
Imagine, given that Raleigh ranks in the 98th percentile of Catcher Aquading, for Statcast. But like Rob Friedman, aka Pitching Ninja, underlined on social mediaPlayers like Raleigh become even more precious if the abdominals are implemented due to their advanced knowledge of the strike area?
Here is another thought: how much the opposing teams are affected by an expert framer as they will be forced to decide whether to risk using a challenge?
As for the distribution of the challenges, there have been significantly more challenges issued in the previous inning than in the last frames.
This plays specifically in the nature of spring, when beginners and training beginners are often the first to play, creating a previous need to use the system.
Also plays the fact that, Despite what the giants and blue jays could tell youSpring games don’t count. The players could challenge every time they seemed reasonable, unlike the use of ABS in the games of the minor League, in which there is an integrated intrinsic strategy: a challenge in eighth inning is more precious than a first one.
Speaking of strategy, plus 2-2 and 3-2 of any other count were challenged. Once again, this should not be too surprising since those are usually the make-or-break shots in any AT-BAT.
As Jayson Stark wrote at the beginning of this weekThe technology is fantastic, provided that the World Series are not decided on a field. The numbers released by MLB further demonstrate that potential.
(Photo above: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
