Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale has made it clear he has no intention of using Major League Baseball's new Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System this season. Sale stated he will focus on his job on the mound and leave the ball and strike calls to the umpires.
Under the new system, each team begins a game with two challenges, which can be initiated by batters, catchers, or pitchers by tapping their head immediately after a pitch. Despite this, the veteran left-hander, a nine-time All-Star and 2024 Cy Young winner, declared he will never challenge a call.
"I will never challenge a pitch. I will never do it. I won't do it," Sale told reporters. "I'm not an umpire. That's their job. I'm a starting pitcher. I've never called balls and strikes in my life. Plus, I'm greedy, and I know that. I think they're all strikes."
Sale added that he trusts his catchers' pitch-framing skills and the umpires' judgment, not wanting to waste a challenge that might be needed later in a crucial at-bat. However, he said he would defer to his catcher if they wanted to initiate a challenge.