Blue Notes · Umpire Grade2026-05-15
“A few too many trips to the challenge cart.”
Umpire Grade
91.2% accurate
Run Favor
runs, TEX
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 125 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▲3 · 2-2 strike called ball· challenged ✓
Justin Foscue vs Spencer Arrighetti - 2-0.39▼4 · 2-2 ball called strike
Christian Walker vs Jack Leiter - 3-0.28▼7 · 1-2 ball called strike
Cam Smith vs Jack Leiter
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 Hawkeye ground truth, no model involved.
- 1Christian Walker — ump said ball, robot ruled strike: overturned.
- 2Justin Foscue — ump said ball, robot ruled strike: overturned.
- 3Alejandro Osuna — ump said ball, robot ruled strike: overturned.
- 4Kyle Higashioka — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
- 5Christian Vázquez — ump said strike, robot ruled strike: upheld.
- 6Brandon Nimmo — ump said strike, robot ruled strike: upheld.
- 7Josh Jung — ump said ball, robot ruled strike: overturned.
Our tracked-rulebook zone matched the ABS ruling on 3 of 7 — a zone-definition gap (ABS grades a standardized, height-based zone), not our error.