NORTH PORT, Fla. -- People have said baseball is a game of inches long before MLB’s new Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System came along.
Now, it seems, baseball might become a game of tenths of inches. At least it was that way on Wednesday, when the Braves hosted the Pirates at CoolToday Park.
For reference, one-tenth of an inch is roughly the thickness of a coin.
It’s also the distance that Pirates ace Paul Skenes’ 1-1 curveball to Braves batter Matt Olson missed the zone on Wednesday. Home-plate umpire Chris Segal ruled the offering a strike, but when Olson tapped his helmet in earnest, the ABS Challenge System was off to the races.
Olson appeared to shrug apologetically at Segal as the teams waited for the answer. Seconds later, an ABS graphic revealed that the pitch had missed kissing the outside of the plate by the length of an ant, a decision so close that even Olson looked surprised as he settled back into the batter’s box after throwing a wink toward Segal.
Olson’s at-bat ultimately ended in a walk, and after his close shave, Atlanta’s hitters didn’t take much bait when Skenes nibbled at the corners. He issued four walks in his 2 1/3 innings at CoolToday Park and landed just 27 of his 53 pitches for strikes.
In total, the Braves called for four reviews against Skenes and won each one, including two consecutive batters following Olson’s win, but none was as close to the plate as the tenth of an inch that turned one outing around.
By the end of the season, “threading the needle” might have a whole new meaning.