Blue Notes · Umpire Grade2026-07-11
CHC @ CIN
Home plate: Dan Merzel
“Called a fair game and let the players decide it.”
Umpire Grade
94.3% accurate
Run Favor
runs, CIN
ABS Overturns
of 4 reviewed
What this shows — how Dan Merzel called the 158 pitches that were taken (no swing), graded against the tracked rulebook strike zone. He got 149 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▼6 · 3-2 strike called ball· challenged
Eugenio Suárez vs Drew Pomeranz - 2-0.39▲9 · 2-2 ball called strike· challenged ✓
Seiya Suzuki vs Tejay Antone - 3+0.09▲1 · 0-0 strike called ball
Seiya Suzuki vs Nick Lodolo
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 · 3 overturned (ump overruled) · 1 upheld (ump confirmed). This is Hawkeye ground truth, no model involved.
- 1Miguel Amaya — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
- 2Miguel Amaya — ump said ball, robot ruled ball: upheld.
- 3Jose Trevino — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
- 4Jose Trevino — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
Our tracked-rulebook zone matched the ABS ruling on 1 of 4 — a zone-definition gap (ABS grades a standardized, height-based zone), not our error.