The New York Yankees understand that if they want to be the team they're looking to be this year, little things like understanding the ABS challenge system are very important. While much of the league is still adjusting to ABS, the Yankees have apparently learned a lot from higher-ups in the organization.
Boone, who spoke about just how seriously the organization has approached the system throughout spring training, should have fans confident about the Yankees' ability to challenge at the right time.
“I was kind of obsessive over it, so I wanted to talk about it a lot,” Boone said Saturday. “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.”
The biggest thing with the ABS system is challenging when needed. If a hitter is in a two-strike count and believes strike three would be overturned in a big moment, it's probably not the worst idea to use it then. However, if a team is up a certain number of runs and nobody is on base, there will be other times when it's better used.
The Yankees also have to take the emotional side out of things here. Arguing balls and strikes has always been part of baseball, but the ABS system now lets players just tap their helmet to see whether the call was right or wrong.
By looking at specific examples, discussing when to use it, and more, they’re trying to create a level of comfort that other teams may not have yet.
“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.”