Jesse Rogers
Glendale, Ariz. – Chicago Cubs pitcher Cody Potoitz gets a ball/strike call in a major league game when he asked Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Max Muncy to review his fastball at the bottom of the first innings. The first player to challenge themselves in their opening spring game on Thursday.
Potoett, who was bought for Cody Bellinger during the winter by the New York Yankees, thought the low fastball had grabbed the corner of the plate, but plate umpire Tony Randazzo disagreed and called it the ball . With each MLB rule this spring, Poteet smacked him on the head, indicating he wanted a review, and the pitch and his position were displayed immediately on the scoreboard. Cole turned around and instead of a 1-1 count, Muncie fell 0-2 before taking a strike.
“I was pretty positive that it was a strike and the referee had it on the ball,” Muncie said afterwards. “I knew it would be overturned, and I went, ‘Oh, man, I’ll be the first one.” wonderful. “
Major League Baseball is testing automatic ball and strike systems for the first time during spring training after several years of use in minor leagues.
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Instead of robots calling all pitches, teams can challenge two calls per game to maintain successful challenges. Only the pitcher, catcher or batsman can challenge the phone and must do so without help from the dugout. Slap their heads is a sign they want to try their phone.
Poteet spent time with minors last season, so he was well-versed in the system.
“I thought I’d caught a large portion of the plate,” he said. “So I thought it was worth using one of them. I’m happy to know that it was a strike and not the first person to get it wrong.”
Later in the game, Cubs catcher Pablo Aliendo challenged the ball call, which was supported. That ratio – one coincides with a minor split where 50% of the call has been overturned. We averaged the games we averaged per contest, but only two on Thursday.
Muncy was asked if the system would work at the major league level during the regular and postseasons. The league has already said that it should not pass spring training this year, but it has not implemented it anytime soon in 2026.
“I think this idea is very interesting to me,” Muncie said. “You feel you have to be 100% certain to challenge.”
Five stadiums in Arizona and eight stadiums in Florida have the technology of the Challenge System, featuring 60% of Cactus and Grapefruitreug matches. MLB will help vote for players and coaches after the spring to determine if or when the system will become permanent in the major leagues.
“I feel that every strike is important… so I thought today was a good time to use it,” Potoiet said.
The Cubs defeated the Dodgers 12-4. The team will play a rematch on Friday and then play again to open the season in Japan in March.
