Blue Notes · Umpire Grade2026-05-15
“A few too many trips to the challenge cart.”
Umpire Grade
89.0% accurate
Run Favor
runs, HOU
ABS Overturns
of 7 reviewed
What this shows — how Ron Kulpa called the 137 pitches that were taken (no swing), graded against the tracked rulebook strike zone. He got 122 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
- 1-0.39▼4 · 2-2 ball called strike
Christian Walker vs Jack Leiter - 2-0.28▼7 · 1-2 ball called strike
Cam Smith vs Jack Leiter - 3-0.28▲9 · 1-2 ball called strike
Ezequiel Duran vs Bryan King
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
7 pitches went to the robots · 5 overturned (ump overruled) · 2 upheld (ump confirmed). This is the ABS system’s own measurement — Hawk-Eye optical ball-tracking, not our model.
- 1Christian Walker — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
- 2Justin Foscue — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
- 3Alejandro Osuna — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
- 4Kyle Higashioka — ump said ball, robot ruled strike: overturned.
- 5Christian Vázquez — ump said strike, robot ruled strike: upheld.
- 6Brandon Nimmo — ump said strike, robot ruled strike: upheld.
- 7Josh Jung — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
Our tracked-rulebook zone matched the ABS ruling on 6 of 7 — a zone-definition gap (ABS grades a standardized, height-based zone), not our error.