Rangers' Michael Young says new ABS system 'is karma in the most beautiful way' for bad umpires

Former Texas Rangers players Michael Young (left) and Ian Kinsler watch a Rangers spring training workout at the team's training facility on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Surprise, Ariz. (Smiley N.

Pool/Staff Photographer) The SportsDay Rangers podcast continued its run of big-time baseball guests joining Evan Grant and John Blake this week when Texas Rangers Hall of Famer Michael Young joined the show . The interview covered all the hottest topics in the sport right now, including takeaways from the World Baseball Classic, how the Rangers are shaping up this season to Young's opinions on the new ABS challenge system designed to get balls and strikes right. Young provides a unique perspective as someone with a lengthy and successful big league career and works both with the Rangers and on the United States' WBC staff.

Below are some highlights from the interview, edited lightly for clarity. You can listen to the full episode here . You're a part of the United States' World Baseball Classic staff, how much more do you see players being engaged and interested in this?

Michael Young: Yeah, I think it just, it's slowly picked up momentum. And I think with the backdrop of the Olympics kind of looming, I think a lot of players, particularly the American players, have really gotten super excited about tournament baseball. And I think this year, [Mark DeRosa] did such an incredible job.