Yankees at forefront of ABS system: 'We’re aggressive with it'

SEATTLE – The batting helmet José Caballero tapped to initiate Major League Baseball’s first Automated Ball-Strike Challenge has been authenticated, set to be displayed at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Beyond its historic value, Caballero’s helmet may be notable for another reason. That artifact from Opening Night in San Francisco represents a rarity: an unsuccessful Yankees challenge.

The Yankees have been at the forefront of the ABS system early on. Entering Wednesday’s series finale against the Mariners, New York batters led the Majors with 10 challenges, eight of them successful.

Yankees catchers, meanwhile, were a perfect 4-for-4.

“I think we have players that know the zone really well,” Caballero said. “That’s a fact that is going to help us. We’re aggressive with it. If we think it’s a ball, we’re going to challenge. We’re not afraid to challenge.”

One notable flip occurred in the Yankees’ sweep of the Giants in San Francisco, when Aaron Judge challenged a called strike early in an at-bat, turning it to a 2-0 count. He then belted the seventh pitch of the plate appearance for a home run.

Judge said that day that he would not “challenge every single one I think is close, but if there’s a big spot where I think I’ve got a chance to flip a count, I’m going to do it.”

The captain also noted the Yankees held extensive meetings – “too many meetings,” he quipped – to prepare for ABS. Caballero said his takeaway was to “be responsible when to challenge and not to challenge.”

“They wanted us to be informed and just feel comfortable so we can go out there and use it as a weapon,” Judge said.

Tanner Swanson, the Yankees’ catching coach, said that preparation began weeks before camp in several staff-wide Zoom calls that included members of the front office, the quantitative analysis team and the coaches.

“We had a pretty good gauge of how we wanted to approach it, and how we wanted to try to make it something we could exploit,” Swanson said. “The margins are so thin, so any competitive edge you can gain is super valuable.

“I think we recognize this is an area that could be the difference in multiple wins throughout the course of the season. That could be the difference between winning the division or not.”

As a result, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the club determined they wanted to be “smartly aggressive” with the system. That approach showed in Spring Training, when the team’s 48 total challenges tied the Guardians for the most in MLB.

The Yanks won the most (24), with the third-most lost challenges (24).

“That’s not everything, because guys – especially veteran guys – were probably sampling it a little more than anything,” Boone said. “Hopefully it’s something we exploit in our favor and do a good job with. I think we will, but it is early.”

Part of that confidence stems from the team’s belief in their strike zone judgment – and the data backs it up. Last season, they had the Majors’ second-lowest chase rate at 25.6 percent, just behind the Brewers (25.5).

Including the postseason, the Yanks tied Milwaukee at 25.7 percent.

“We were the best one in Spring Training,” Caballero said. “And we’re the best ones in the beginning of the season. It’s showing that we know the zone.”

Swanson said that reflects the organization’s investment in studying the strike zone and umpire tendencies, which is now carrying over into ABS. Yet despite their success out of the gates, their spring success rate may be closer to reality.

Swanson called the current rate “very unsustainable,” noting the Yankees intend to challenge borderline pitches, not just obvious misses.

“We’ve been extremely successful,” Swanson said. “That’s not necessarily the goal. We want to be right and we want to retain our challenges, but there are also certain cases where we’re willing to roll the dice.

“It’s a lot like gambling – based on what card you have showing versus the dealer, how aggressive are you willing to be with your bets? We talk a lot about different game states and leverage situations. We have high confidence in not being scared to pull the trigger.”