Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto has success in his first game challenging pitches: It’s ‘a different dynamic’
The Phillies catcher was successful on two challenges in his first experience with the automated ball-strike system being piloted by MLB this spring.
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Phillies pitcher Joe Ross unleashed a cutter to Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette that skimmed the bottom of the strike zone.
Ball.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto instantly tapped his head, signaling a challenge to the umpire’s call using the automated ball-strike system (ABS) that MLB teams are piloting this spring. The system, which was in use in triple A in 2024, allows the catcher, pitcher, or hitter to challenge any pitch. Teams begin with two challenges each, and keep them if they are successful.
An animation on the scoreboard confirmed that the cutter to Bichette did, in fact, pass through the zone. The count was changed to 1-2 and Bichette grounded out on the next pitch.
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Realmuto, using ABS for the first time in Wednesday’s 9-6 win over Toronto, finished the game 2-for-2 on his challenges. He also correctly challenged the call on a slider from Seth Johnson that clipped the outside corner.
The Blue Jays burned through both their challenges by the third inning.
“It was definitely a different dynamic, for sure,” Realmuto said. “It was nice, though, just having consistent strikes and knowing what were balls and what were strikes. I think it’s going to take a little getting used to just knowing when to challenge and when not to. But overall, so far, so good.”
ABS will not be in place in the major leagues during the 2025 season, but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said he hopes the system will be used in regular-season games as soon as 2026.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said earlier in the spring he prefers that either the batter or the catcher initiates the challenges, since they have the best vantage point of where a pitch finishes. Realmuto hasn’t yet challenged a call while he’s up to bat.
“There was one pitch in my third at-bat today that I thought might have been a ball, but for whatever reason, I didn’t challenge it,” he said. “So I think just getting confident and knowing your zone and knowing what are balls and what are strikes, and that’s going to take some getting used to during spring training, and maybe making some errors with it and getting some wrong, just to know your eyes and be able to trust them.”
When he first heard about the system, Realmuto initially wasn’t a fan of how it reduces the importance of framing as a catcher. As a hitter, however, he liked the idea of having a more consistent strike zone.
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Now that he has tested it out in a real game, Realmuto thought he learned more from the times he decided not to tap his head. He said he wasn’t looking for any specific pitches or spots in the zone to challenge, but instead was going by feel.
“The two chances that I thought, as soon as I caught the ball, I was like, ‘Ooh, I think that was a strike.’ But I said, ‘Yeah, it’s close, so I’m not going to take a chance,’” Realmuto said. “And I was right on both of them. … Just trust yourself, especially when you have multiple challenges.”
Even though he’ll no longer be able to challenge calls this year once the Phillies’ opening day rolls around on March 27, Realmuto believes the imminent arrival of the system to the majors might have an impact on big-league umpires and how they make calls this season.
“They’re going to be tighter zones, just because they know most likely ABS is coming,” he said. “That accountability is on the way, so I think they’re going to start trying to be a little tighter. At least if I was an umpire, that’s probably what I would do.”