Teams faring best and worst in using the automated balls & strikes system

[True Dough]

The Minnesota Twins are the most liberal challengers under the new system, leading the way with 124. The most conservative team has been the Boston Red Sox at 63. These two teams, for all their differences in the rate of challenges, both spread those challenges fairly equally between their batters and defenders. That's not the case with everyone.

The Miami Marlins are by far the MLB leader in challenges from defenders (90), mostly their catchers (remember, only hitters, catchers and pitchers can challenge a call). But the Marlins rank 29th in challenges from their hitters. The Baltimore Orioles flip that around -- they're tied for sixth in challenges from hitters, but 29th from defenders.

According to the run values applied to ABS challenges by Statcast, the Twins and Colorado Rockies lead the way with 4.4 runs better than expectation, which translates to a little under a half-win. Those clubs are six runs better than the last-place Texas Rangers, at minus-1.6 runs against expectation. That six-run spread, translated to the full season, could mean a difference of around three wins. It's no small thing.

The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals are tied for first with an average of 0.13 runs gained per challenge. The Red Sox are among the clubs tied for second at 0.12, but because Boston challenges so infrequently, their bottom-line total of 1.3 runs below expectation ranks 28th. The lesson: Challenge more, Red Sox!

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48807610/mlb-2026-abs-automated-balls-strikes-system-early-numbers-lessons-analytics