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Braves' Chris Sale signals true feelings on ABS challenge system: 'I'm not an umpire' originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale apparently hates MLB's implementation of the ABS challenge system.
So much so, the lefty vows to never make a single challenge when he's on the mound during the upcoming season.
"I will never challenge a pitch. I will never do it," Sale told reporters, including Justin Felder of Fox Sports 5, on Friday. When asked why he would never consider it, Sale had a blunt response:
"Because I'm not an umpire," Sale said. "That's their job. I'm a starting pitcher. I've never called balls and strikes in my life."
Sale credits catchers for stealing strikes
Even as one of the best starting pitchers of the last decade, Sale knows he receives help from his catchers' framing abilities.
"Catchers nowadays, the way they catch the ball and the way they receive, they make them all look like strikes," Sale added.
Atlanta's starting backstop, 2025 NL Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin, finished in the 45th percentile in MLB in pitch framing. Backup Sean Murphy ranked in the 71st percentile.
Will Sale allow his catchers to challenge pitches, or is he against the idea as a whole?
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