Aaron Boone Was 'Obsessive Over' New ABS Challenge System, Aaron Judge Says Yankees Went Overboard
The New York Yankees had no choice but to get familiar with the new Automated Ball-Strike System quickly, largely thanks to manager Aaron Boone's insistence.
After completing a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, Boone admitted that he did everything he could to ensure that his players had a full grasp of MLB's new challenge system.
"I was kind of obsessive over it, so I wanted to talk about it a lot," Boone said Saturday, per the Associated Press. "I was going up to individuals almost routinely after every one, 'Hey, I really liked that one,' why, 'I hated that one.' At the end of spring I pulled up probably eight to 10 examples not only our games but some other games and talked through them, just trying to get our guys to inherently understand instinctively, in-the-moment situations and also whenever we can, which is easier said than done, is stripping the emotion out of it, which is going to happen at some point."
However, Boone's diligence eventually became an annoyance, as Yankees star slugger Aaron Judge said he felt his manager went a little overboard with the preparation.
"We had too many meetings about it, in my opinion," Judge said.
Still, the preparation paid off when Judge challenged a called strike two by plate umpire Chad Fairchild in the sixth inning of Friday's Game 2 and had it overturned to a ball by the robot umpire. He hit a two-run home run five pitches later to help the Yankees secure a 3-0 win. He hit his second home run of the year in Saturday's 3-1 victory to help complete the series sweep.
In all, seven challenges of calls by plate umpire Chad Whitson were overturned: four by San Francisco, three by New York. Boone said he feels the system will benefit the Yankees, who had the second-lowest chase rate in 2025 behind only the Milwaukee Brewers at 25.6 percent.
"That's my expectation," he said. "We've poured a lot into it. I feel like our team makeup should lend itself to this being a good thing for us and an advantage for us, but that's not a given either. We've got to continue to evolve with it and learn from it and hopefully it is something that is a strength."
Judge made it clear that it will take some time for him and his teammates to truly get used to the new system.
"Weird," he said, "it's part of the game, but you've got to get used to it. I'm a hitter, I've got to focus on hitting. I'm not going try to sit here and challenge every single one I think is close, but if there's a big spot where I think I've got a chance to flip the count I'm going to do it. I've still got to go up there and do my job as a hitter."
