Monday, 11 May 2026

MLB ump's blown strike call overturned by ABS leaves announcer stunned: 'Yikes'

Home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz had a shocking missed call exposed by MLB's ABS system during Thursday's Tigers-Braves game, stunning broadcasters.


MLB ump's blown strike call overturned by ABS leaves announcer stunned: 'Yikes'

How bad was the missed call? It left Tigers TV play-by-play guy Jason Benetti nearly speechless. "It is...yikes," Benetti said as the ABS system revealed that Ortiz missed a ball right down the heart of the plate.

Watch where these pitches ended up in the K-Zone squares:

It gets worse. In 2024, Ump Auditor reported that Ortiz missed 30 calls in a Pirates-Royals game and had a "correct call rate of only 82.5%." While we're at it, Ortiz worked a 2023 game where he called a pitch a strike when it was 5.27 inches off the plate, according to Ump Auditor.

Running out bad home-plate umpires might actually end up being a smart business decision by Major League Baseball. "What actually surprised me is how popular this is with fans," Manfred said of ABS. "When the challenge happens, everybody's kind of glued to the Jumbotron. It's amazing. … It's a form of fan engagement."

To date, the ABS stats are telling:

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