Pirates star calls out umpire, pleads for ABS system

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Pirates star calls out umpire on social media, pleads for ABS system

By David Korn | Last updated 9/11/23

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes was on the receiving end of one of the worst calls of the season on Sunday.

Hayes was facing Braves reliever A.J. Minter in the eighth inning down 5-2. With a 3-1 count, Hayes appeared to draw a walk on a ball high and outside, but home-plate umpire Bill Miller called it a strike. Moments later, Hayes struck out and the Braves ended up holding on and winning the game.

Hayes took to Twitter on Sunday to voice his frustration with the egregious strike call.

Some umpires really don’t care. 3-1 call not even close. I hold him accountable after the game walking off the field and his response is “‍♂️ I gave you a chance to hit a homerun” that tells me you don’t care at all. No accountability. Bring the ABS please @MLB pic.twitter.com/sgncakv8v8
— KeBryan Hayes (@KeBryanHayes) September 10, 2023

Completely warranted pic.twitter.com/Dy7uEQ4vSU
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 10, 2023

"Some umpires really don't care," Hayes said. "No accountability. Bring the ABS please."

"ABS" refers to the automated ball-strike system that is used throughout minor league baseball. It is essentially robot umpires.

Hayes was right to be upset on all accounts. He thought that he had earned a walk on a pitch that was unquestionably out of the zone in a key, late-game situation.

Instead, Miller called it a strike, and then seemingly made light of the situation while ignoring Hayes' frustrations. Miller allegedly responded to Hayes after he approached him postgame by saying, "I gave you a chance to hit a home run."

Unfortunately for Hayes, there's a good chance he'll still have to deal with human umpires for at least one more season.

Commissioner Rob Manfred supports the eventual implementation of the automatic ball-strike system, but recently said that it unlikely that it will be in use during the 2024 season despite its implementation throughout the minor leagues.

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