- MLB will test a new "Check Swing Challenge" system at Salt Lake Bees games.
- The system uses technology to track bat trajectory with two challenges per team.
- Implemented May 5, it aims to reduce strikeouts and improve play consistency.
SOUTH JORDAN — Major League Baseball players have appeared to have had a lot of fun this spring, challenging balls and strikes through a system first tested at Smith's Ballpark and other minor league parks a few seasons ago.
While the challenge system, applying only to balls and strikes, will be rolled out in regular-season MLB games this season, the Salt Lake Bees will be among a handful of teams trying out another system that could overturn calls made by umpires.
MLB, which oversees all of the minor leagues, announced on Tuesday that the Pacific Coast League will begin testing a "Check Swing Challenge" system on May 5 to battle any claims that a batter did or didn't swing.
Much like the automated ball and strike system is used to determine the strike zone in at-bat challenges, the league will use technology that tracks the trajectory of a bat. Each team will start with two challenges that can be used on balls, strikes or swings during an at-bat. Challenges are retained when a player successfully overturns an umpire's call.
The league is also cleaning up what is considered a swing, since that's often left to interpretation — hence the frustration from players, broadcasters and fans alike.
"A swing will be called when the maximum angle between the bat head and the bat handle is greater than 45 degrees," the league wrote in a statement.
MLB originally tested the concept in both the Florida State League and the Arizona Fall League last season. It found a 3% lower strikeout rate when the Check Swing Challenge was used, resulting in more balls put in play.
The Bees will play in Oklahoma City when the new challenge system debuts. It will be first implemented at games held at The Ballpark at America First Square beginning on May 12, when the team hosts El Paso.
It's part of several new rule changes that will be tested in minor league ballgames this season. The International League, which is the other Triple-A league associated with MLB teams, will be testing a new second base configuration this season that's slightly closer to all the other bases.
All Triple-A teams will have slightly adjusted pitch clock regulations this season. Umpires will not wait for a batter to be ready before restarting the pitch clock after a timeout is granted. And if a pitcher claims their PitchCom device isn't working, that will count as a mound visit — and toward the number of visits a team is allowed in a game.
Lower leagues will test other regulations, including having no option to call mid-at-bat timeouts, aside for some special cases. Double-A pitchers will only have one disengagement attempt to try and stop a runner from stealing a bag before the runner is awarded a base on a subsequent failed attempt.
Only time will tell if those rules end up in the majors.
