1. Major League Baseball scored a big victory with the pitch clock in 2023. The league has another potential win on its hands with the automated ball-strike system (ABS).

The challenge system is being used in spring training games this season, but there are no plans yet for it to be implemented in the regular season. If I were Rob Manfred, I’d do everything in my power to get ABS in real games ASAP.

After seeing how the system works in the first few days of spring training, it’s impossible to find a downside—other than umpires will surely get pissed when they see how many calls they get wrong in a game. But that’s just too bad. The system is perfect from what I’ve seen.

Here are some clips of how the ABS works during games.

There’s actually a little rush for the viewer as the player taps his head to signal he wants to challenge and then the replay video comes up on screen to show the trajectory of the pitch. Anything that can get more excitement into a baseball game is a good thing.

Another aspect of the ABS system that MLB has gotten right during this experimental phase is that each team gets two challenges per game, but if they win their challenge, they do not lose a challenge. That’s the way it should be done.

2. ESPN has announced that Richard Jefferson will join Mike Breen and Doris Burke for the NBA Finals this season in addition to other big regular-season games and playoff games, which include the Western Conference Finals.

3. There are certain occasions when the F-word just hits right and makes you laugh. That’s one reason why this is my pinned tweet. The way Sabres broadcaster Rob Ray unleashed his F-bomb after getting hit by a puck on Saturday night was just perfection.

4. I read this tweet four times in a row and still couldn’t believe it was real.

5. After embarrassing themselves by sending out press releases and having ridiculous press conferences about their dopey facial hair rule last Friday, the Yankees low-keyed another change in tradition. As a Yankees fan, I like this one. It never made any sense to play New York, New York after a loss. It should only be saved for wins.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with The Athletic’s sports media reporter, Andrew Marchand, about the latest sports media news.

Topics covered include Fox shielding Tom Brady from interviews all season long, Joe Buck’s return to baseball to call opening day on ESPN, the battle between MLB and ESPN, MLB’s streaming problem, the possibility of Netflix getting a Sunday afternoon NFL package, and the constant talk about Stephen A. Smith possibly running for president.

Following Marchand, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment.

This week’s segment features a long discussion about Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary special and the history of the show. In addition, I rant about what a cesspool Twitter has become, comments from Mets’ owner Steve Cohen and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 69th birthday to the funniest person of my lifetime, Eddie Murphy.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLB’s ABS Challenge System Is Awesome.