Dodgers taking intentional approach to first spring with ABS Challenge System

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Everyone at American Family Fields of Phoenix turned their attention toward the scoreboard after Ryder Ryan tapped his cap. He thought his 1-1 offering had clipped the strike zone, but the graphic revealed that it was nearly an inch and a half inside.

"The pitcher was incorrect," said home-plate umpire Bill Miller, sparking a burst of laughter from the crowd.

Ryan was the only Dodgers pitcher to challenge a call this spring, but his experience was not unlike those of most of their hitters and catchers as they have gotten accustomed to the new Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System.

Entering Friday night's game against the Padres, the Dodgers were among the worst at overturning calls this spring. They went 6-for-18 (33%, 26th in the Majors) when challenging as the batting team and 9-for-22 (41%, 29th in the Majors) when challenging as the defensive team.

For almost all of Spring Training, the Dodgers were experimental with how they used challenges. Their focus was on gaining a better understanding of ABS rather than getting challenges correct. It wasn't until this week that the organization gathered to lay out its strategy -- which the team expects to evolve over time.

Moving forward, expect the Dodgers to be more intentional with their challenges.

"I feel like as hitters, we kind of laid off a little bit and didn't use it the way that we were supposed to use it early on, because we were saving it for the catcher and to have a conversation," Miguel Rojas said. "But now that we have a little bit more clarity of how we're going to use it, I think the team is going to start getting better."

Only five Dodgers have won challenges as hitters: Rojas, Alex Call, Ryan Fitzgerald, Dalton Rushing and Nick Senzel. Three have won challenges as catchers: Rushing, Seby Zavala and Eliezer Alfonzo.

Out of Dodgers who have challenged multiple pitchers, Call (2-for-3) stands out as the best of the hitters and Zavala (3-for-3) has been the best of the catchers. On a case-by-case basis, it's not difficult to understand why that is.

After the last Trade Deadline, when Call was traded from the Nationals, he came with the reputation of taking great at-bats. For years, he had developed that part of his game by using a virtual reality training program called Win Reality to gain a deeper understanding of his strike zone.

"The type of player that I am, I can hit the ball over the fence, but it's not really my full game," Call said last year. "And so for me, it was about trying to create as many opportunities to get on base as possible."

That training has been especially helpful in the fledgling ABS era. For Call, part of the learning curve is that players must challenge the umpire's call within roughly two seconds. It's not just knowing the strike zone, but being convicted in that knowledge.

Zavala has had more success challenging as a catcher than as a hitter (0-for-1) this spring, which may not come as a surprise due to the difference in vantage point.

"Obviously, when I'm catching, I know a pitch is coming. I'm set up in a certain spot," Zavala said. "When I'm hitting, the pitchers are trying to mess with your eyes. They go in, they go out. A good pitcher, if they're doing good, they could make the plate look smaller, bigger, whatever."

Out of everyone in Dodgers camp, Zavala likely has the most experience with ABS. He spent part of 2022 with Triple-A Charlotte, where the Challenge System was already being tested four years before its introduction to the Majors. The more one uses the system, he said, the better one understands the zone.

Manager Dave Roberts believes ABS has already raised the floor of umpiring, as he's noticed a difference in the quality of calls from the end of last season to the beginning of spring, and from the beginning of spring to the end. But the Dodgers aren't quite showing their hand on how they plan to use the system to their advantage.

The team has divulged this much: Hitters will use challenges in order to gain more information about the ABS strike zone. The Dodgers will try to keep at least one challenge available for leverage situations in the late innings. And pitchers won't be barred from challenging -- but if they do?

“He’d better be right," Roberts said.