Umpire Embarrassed by ABS After Three Overturned Calls in First Two Innings
Sports Illustrated • • sports
Key Points:
- Mitch Trzeciak, a Triple A umpire in 2025, struggled during his home plate umpiring debut in a Grapefruit League game between the Pirates and Red Sox.
- Trzeciak's first notable error came when he called a clear strike a ball, which was overturned after an ABS review following a challenge by the catcher.
- Throughout the first two innings, three of Trzeciak's calls were reviewed and all were overturned, resulting in five consecutive incorrect calls.
- The incident highlights the difficulty of calling balls and strikes and underscores the importance of the ABS challenge system in helping umpires improve their accuracy.
- The goal of the ABS system is to correct umpire errors frequently enough to encourage better
