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Blue Notes · Umpire Grade2026-08-24

PIT @ SD

Home plate: Dan Merzel

“The players kept asking for a second opinion — and kept getting one.”

B
Umpire Grade
92.8% accurate
0.4
Run Favor
runs, SD
5
ABS Overturns
of 9 reviewed

What this shows — how Dan Merzel called the 209 pitches that were taken (no swing), graded against the tracked rulebook strike zone. He got 194 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

Challenge 1: Rafael Flores Jr. — the ump called it a ball, the robot ruled ball (upheld — ump confirmed).1Challenge 2: Freddy Fermin — the ump called it a strike, the robot ruled ball (OVERTURNED — ump overruled).2Challenge 3: Rafael Flores Jr. — the ump called it a strike, the robot ruled ball (OVERTURNED — ump overruled).3Challenge 4: Jake Cronenworth — the ump called it a ball, the robot ruled strike (OVERTURNED — ump overruled).4Challenge 5: Spencer Horwitz — the ump called it a strike, the robot ruled strike (upheld — ump confirmed).5Challenge 6: Xander Bogaerts — the ump called it a ball, the robot ruled strike (OVERTURNED — ump overruled).6Challenge 7: Luis Rengifo — the ump called it a strike, the robot ruled strike (upheld — ump confirmed).7Challenge 8: Ty France — the ump called it a ball, the robot ruled strike (OVERTURNED — ump overruled).8Challenge 9: Nick Gonzales — the ump called it a strike, the robot ruled strike (upheld — ump confirmed).9
strike called ballball called strikeABS overturnedABS upheld

The calls that moved the game

  1. 1-0.20▲12 · 2-1 ball called strike· challenged
    Nick Gonzales vs Jeremiah Estrada
  2. 2-0.13▼8 · 1-1 ball called strike
    Dustin Harris vs Luke Weaver
  3. 3+0.13▼8 · 1-1 strike called ball
    Manny Machado vs Luke Weaver

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

9 pitches went to the robots · 5 overturned (ump overruled) · 4 upheld (ump confirmed). This is the ABS system’s own measurement — Hawk-Eye optical ball-tracking, not our model.

  1. 1Rafael Flores Jr. — ump said ball, robot ruled ball: upheld.
  2. 2Freddy Fermin — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
  3. 3Rafael Flores Jr. — ump said strike, robot ruled ball: overturned.
  4. 4Jake Cronenworth — ump said ball, robot ruled strike: overturned.
  5. 5Spencer Horwitz — ump said strike, robot ruled strike: upheld.
  6. 6Xander Bogaerts — ump said ball, robot ruled strike: overturned.
  7. 7Luis Rengifo — ump said strike, robot ruled strike: upheld.
  8. 8Ty France — ump said ball, robot ruled strike: overturned.
  9. 9Nick Gonzales — ump said strike, robot ruled strike: upheld.

Our tracked-rulebook zone matched the ABS ruling on 2 of 9 — a zone-definition gap (ABS grades a standardized, height-based zone), not our error.

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