The Athletics fell victim to a bizarre glitch in the challenge system Saturday night against the New York Yankees.
Athletics catcher Tyler Soderstrom was at the plate in the fourth inning of Saturday’s game at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, Ca. He took a 2-0 pitch that appeared to miss low and outside, but home plate umpire Adam Beck called it a strike.
Soderstrom challenged the call, but for whatever reason, the typical graphic failed to appear on the scoreboard. After a lengthy pause, Beck announced that the call stood, even though the pitch appeared to be clearly out of the zone.
This isn’t how ABS Challenges are supposed to work. 🧑🦯 #Athletics pic.twitter.com/Bi1DKhs8Nm
— Uprooted (@uprootedoakland) May 31, 2026
After the game, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said he was told that the controller of the ABS system informed Beck that the pitch was a strike, even though it wasn’t.
“Obviously, they don’t have access to the iPad,” Kotsay said, via Josh Dubow of The Associated Press. “They only have access to the information they’re being told through their ear piece. That’s something we need clarified through the league and we will have that conversation with the league.”
Players and umpires are both still learning how to negotiate this new system, and there will be missteps. In this case, though, it’s hard to figure out how the technology failed so badly. The Athletics will certainly want an explanation to prevent it from happening again.
