Blue Notes · Umpire Grade2026-04-18
“Solid and unspectacular — exactly what the job asks.”
Umpire Grade
93.4% accurate
Run Favor
runs, TEX
ABS Overturns
of 4 reviewed
What this shows — how Rob Drake called the 166 pitches that were taken (no swing), graded against the tracked rulebook strike zone. He got 155 right. Below, only his misses are plotted, alongside every pitch the ABS (Automated Ball-Strike System) reviewed on a challenge.
The zone, as he called it
strike called ballball called strikeABS overturnedABS upheld
The calls that moved the game
- 1+0.69▲7 · 3-2 strike called ball
Corey Seager vs Gabe Speier - 2+0.39▼8 · 2-2 strike called ball
Leo Rivas vs Cal Quantrill - 3+0.28▲2 · 1-2 strike called ball
Joc Pederson vs George Kirby
Run impact from the count run-value table: a missed strike three is worth far more than one on 3-0.
ABS — the Automated Ball-Strike System
4 pitches went to the robots · 2 overturned (ump overruled) · 2 upheld (ump confirmed). This is Hawkeye ground truth, no model involved.
- 1Kyle Higashioka — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
- 2Cal Raleigh — ump said ball, robot ruled ball: upheld.
- 3George Kirby — ump said ball, robot ruled ball: upheld.
- 4Kyle Higashioka — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
Our tracked-rulebook zone matched the ABS ruling on 2 of 4 — a zone-definition gap (ABS grades a standardized, height-based zone), not our error.