SEC Has Nerve, MLB Lacks in Implementing Innovation
The SEC has been slow in implementing new innovations, but they're showing their nerve with ABS technology for this week's SEC Tournament.
The SEC has been a late adopter when it comes to implementing new innovations in sports, but that doesn’t mean they’re not willing to take the risk of doing so. If the SEC had incubated testing of the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) the way Major League Baseball did, it would’ve been rolled out years ago in the quietest way possible. No fanfare, no network television, and certainly not in a game that matters.
Athletic directors from places like Wright State and UNC-Asheville would’ve fielded calls asking for their sign-off on ABS testing in non-conference games, and they would’ve gladly obliged. The SEC is doing just the opposite: introducing ABS technology on its grandest baseball stage, the SEC Tournament in Hoover, beginning this week. Each team will receive three challenges per game of a ball/strike call, and the precise location of the pitch will almost immediately be displayed on a video board for fans to see if the home-plate umpire’s call is overturned.
There are some nuances involved in the system's in-game application, but that's the crux of it. And the SEC couldn’t have picked a more visible debut for it. The SEC tournament gets underway Tuesday morning when Ole Miss and Missouri play a first-round game at 9:30 a.
m. CT on the SEC Network, and the ABS appeal will be in play. A quick tapping motion to the head from either the pitcher, batter or catcher will signal to the umpire that a ball-strike call is being appealed, after which the video board graphic will arbitrate the call in what should be a timely manner.