ABS Review - International League :
I did some number crunching in regards to balls and strikes calls in the International League (AAA) this season. Three days per week the league is using the ABS (Automated Balls and Strikes) system while the other three days the Challenge System is in use where the umpire calls balls and strikes but teams are allowed three challenges per game (actually is more as only lose a challenge if call is not overturned) and the ABS has the override.
Using data I accumulated from the league site the numbers may be a bit surprising to some - games are averaging the following, these are game totals for both clubs :
ABS called exclusively (Tuesday’s thur Thursday’s)
Runs per Game : 11.13
Hits per Game : 17.3
Walks per Game : 9.51
Strikeouts per Game : 17.51
Umpire Called with Challenge System (Friday’s thru Sunday’s)
Runs per Game : 11.06
Hits per Game : 17.6
Walks per Game : 8.90
Strikeouts per Game : 17.49
Basically thus far the ABS is producing more walks but runs are basically the same as are strikeouts and there are slightly more hits per game where umpires call pitches to date.
The New Rules :
Just a quick comparison of the 2022 season to this year in regards to impact/non impact of the new rules in regards to offensive production at the major league level, high level comparison.
2022 :
Runs per Game : 8.6
Hits per Game : 16.3
Singles per Game : 10.6
Doubles per Game : 3.3
Triples per Game : 0.3
Home Runs per Game : 2.1
Stolen bases per Game : 1.0
2023 :
Runs per Game : 9.2
Hits per Game : 16.8
Singles per Game : 10.7
Doubles per Game : 3.4
Triples per Game : 0.3
Home Runs per Game : 2.4
Stolen bases per Game : 1.4
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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