Big league teams are still getting used to the automated ball-strike system, but they learned Friday that there are no take-backs on a challenge.
On an 0-2 pitch with one out in the top of the seventh inning during the Pirates’ 2-0 win over the Cubs, Pittsburgh infielder Nick Gonzales took a 94 mph fastball from Chicago left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar that appeared to be off the plate.
Home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz thought otherwise and rung up Gonzales for strike three.
Gonzales immediately disagreed, tapping his helmet in a visual that baseball fans have become used to over the first few weeks of the season.
Rather than turning his head to the video board and waiting for the robo umpires to give the verdict on the pitch, Gonzales appeared to change his mind, waving toward Ortiz as if to say “never mind.”
Ortiz wasn’t having it.
Despite Gonzales’ wishes, Ortiz went on with the challenge, announcing to the crowd that the Pittsburgh hitter wanted to see if the pitch did in fact clip the strike zone.
It all worked out for Gonzales in the end.
ABS showed that Thielbar’s pitch was more than an inch off the plate, giving Gonzales a second life in the plate appearance.
Gonzales would be set down four pitches later anyway on a fly ball to left field, but players and teams alike learned a valuable lesson — there’s no un-challenging a pitch under ABS.