I was a bit surprised they were not using the challenge rule for strikes. I have seen it in AAA and it's a beneficial addition to the game. The DR received two critical strikeouts on pitches that should have been called a ball.
It has to be something that was put in place awhile back where they decided it wouldn't be used in the 26 WBC. It was in AAA last year, teams have been using it in Spring Training for the past two seasons and it'll be a part of the MLB regular season in a couple of weeks.
Ask any ump and they will tell you the bottom of the strike zone is the toughest area to gauge. When you add in the insane movement some of these pitchers have, it becomes even more difficult.
That’s actually a good idea. Never thought of that
The Astros can just borrow them some garbage cans.
I have an even better idea for having accurate balls and strikes....
I actually hate the challenge system for balls and strikes. I would prefer to have a mix of the automated strike zone and the human element we previously had. So pick a specific distance of variability, lets say 1 inch. Any missed call more than 1 inch is automatically corrected. Anything within an inch is left as is. No challenges.