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Understanding the new check-swing call system that MLB is testing this fall in Arizona

Posted on by Josh L
Understanding the new check-swing call system that MLB is testing this fall in Arizona

The Arizona Fall League saw the first ever check swing in professional baseball on Tuesday. New York Mets prospect Drew Gilbertwho played for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the AFL, believed he had missed a 3-1 pitch. The umpire at third base called it a swing anyway, prompting Gilbert to tap his helmet and initiate a review.

In this first instance, it proved successful: examination eventually showed that Gilbert had not broken the 45-degree plane.

“The guys like it, we’ll see,” Gilbert said. “I mean, obviously they’re going to need a little more trial and error. But it’s a good idea.”

Major League Baseball is testing the AFL’s check-swing calling system this fall using cameras installed at Salt River Fields in Talking Stick, the home ground of the Salt River Rafters. Under the check-swing rule, if the manager or catcher believes the umpire’s decision is wrong, they will point to the umpire at first or third base to appeal. Everything this UMP says is final. However, there is another level of viewing in this new camera system. Catchers and managers still call first or third base, but if players disagree, they can now challenge and go to video to see if the swing has crossed the 45-degree threshold that distinguishes a check-mach from a full one. .

The Scottsdale Scorpions and Salt River Rafters were informed before Tuesday’s game that the check would likely be called a “swing” just to test the technology. Players will then be able to challenge.

“I didn’t really know until about 10 minutes into the game,” Gilbert said.

Only hitters, pitchers and catchers may challenge check swings, and each team is allowed two calls per game with an additional third if two are used before the ninth inning.

Will it appear on majors soon? No. At this point, the check-swing challenge system is nothing more than a proof-of-concept, said a person familiar with the development. Athletic.

Rule changes that have been piloted in the AFL in the past include the pitch clock, which has since been implemented in the majors, and the automated ball striking system (ABS), which has been installed at all Triple-A ballparks. each of the last two seasons. Talking Stick’s Salt River Fields is the only AFL stadium with high-frame cameras, which are key to the Hawk-Eye system used for ABS and Statcast data at major league stadiums.

MLB’s Official Baseball Rules do not offer any definition of a check swing, only that a strike is a hit “hit by the batter.” The practical definition is when the batter does not reach the first base line (for righties) or the third base line (for lefties). This ambiguity does lead to some lingering questions when these tests begin.

“I had a couple of questions, like I think the computer probably couldn’t pick up that kind of swing where a guy starts swinging and then almost gets hit,” Scottsdale Scorpions manager Dennis Pelphrey said. “The barrel might go there, but with the feel of the game, most umpires aren’t going to call it a swing, but it might well be from the computer’s point of view.”

Before MLB approved the pitch clock at the highest level, it was tested in more than 8,000 minor league games, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, to iron out loopholes. A pitcher could come off the mound, and a batter could choose a time to come out of the batter’s box at any time, such as early in the rule. It’s too early to tell when or if the challenge of the check swing will reach the minors.

But Pelfrey envisioned an ideal world in which the system would be available for baseball’s biggest games.

“I think the swing is a really tough decision for the umpires to make because the bat goes in and out of the zone very quickly,” Pelphrey said. “A lot of times I feel like it’s a guess for them. But I think if we’re going to have that kind of trouble in some of the biggest moments of the game — in the World Series in the ninth inning, if a guy is waiting — we can at least challenge to see.”

(Gilbert photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)