We experienced a first and got a glimpse of the future all on the same play today during our debut at the St. Paul Saints CHS Field.
Saturday marked the first time we watched a game with the ball-strike challenge rule. It was seamless and surprisingly non-controversial so much so that the game ended with a successful pitcher’s challenge for strike three and it all seemed so … normal.
This was the last of 10-or-so ball-strike challenges during the Saints’ Triple-A Pacific Coast League clash with the Louisville Bats.
Interestingly all but one of the challenges were initiated by the batter with a tap to the top of the helmet. The plate umpire, James Jean, then announced the challenge and a replay of the pitch via Gamecast was displayed on the center field scoreboard. “Ball” or “strike” was flashed at the end of the cast and that was the decision.
The whole process confirmed how accurate umpires can be. There were 336 pitches in this game and 10 challenges which means 97 percent of the pitches were accurate in the eyes of the pitcher or batter.
Each challenge took all of 25 seconds tops and really had no impact on the length of the game.
This matinee featured 15 runs, a seven-run first, 20 hits, five errors, seven pitching changes, three steals, a hit by pitch, a wild pitch and a pitch timer violation and the game still was completed in well under three hours.
Interestingly, this day’s Sox game — the rain delay marathon in St. Louis — would have certainly been prolonged by the challenge system. CB Bucknor’s game-ending called third strike of a Tanner Banks’ offering was clearly outside of the strike zone and would have been overturned by the system and the game would have continued putting the Sox sixth win of the campaign in jeopardy.
Because of its efficiency and accuracy, this system in the Major Leagues is inevitable. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see it next season at a big league ballpark near you.
This innovation all part of another amazing Twin Cities day where we experienced “fire-table” seats for the first time.
Like the ball-strike challenge, those seats were “life-changing.”