Major League Baseball's Automated Ball-Strike challenge system has become a main character in the young season as everyone in the league tries to figure out how to navigate this brave new world. Players who feel as though they were slighted by a real-time adjudication now have a recourse, though they must also weigh their personal feelings against what's best for the team because a misspent challenge can have dire repercussions for their team.
Those tuned into the first several days of the regular season have been struck by two things. One, the sheer number of times it's clear someone disagrees with a call but opts not to challenge and just how llittle time there is to make a calculation.
We've seen a few instances where the would-be challenge is ignored because the umpire deemed it took too long to initiate. Which is another complicating element of this first-year process. Whether or not there was too much a delay in triggering the challenge system remains a judgment call. So while things are running much, much smoother there are still points of friction.
Umpires aren't perfect. ABS isn't perfect. And people aren't perfect. So ejections still exist even if there's a plan in place to resolve conflicts more efficiently.
Twins manager Derek Shelton made history by becoming the first person to get tossed due to an ABS-related disputed on Sunday in the ninth inning of an 8-6 loss to the Orioles.
Twins manager Derek Shelton was LIVID as he argued that Ryan Helsley didn't challenge this call fast enough pic.twitter.com/NnsgUb3iap
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 29, 2026
With Minnesota down two runs and down to two more outs, Josh Bell looked at a payoff pitch from Ryan Helsey that was called ball four. This would have brought the go-ahead run to the plate. Helsey challenged the call rather quickly but Shelton did not believe the appeal came quick enough. After replay showed the pitch was a strike, the Twins skipper came off the bench to give the umpires a piece of his mind. They didn't care to hear about it and quickly dismissed him from the proceedings.
Did Shelton have a point? I am secure enough to admit that I don't really know. The pitch was a strike and Helsey went right to his hat so it does not appear so. The first step of initiating a challenge is seeing what the umpire is going to call in the first place and that's a very important step.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Twins Manager Earns ABS-Related Ejection in Major League Baseball First.
