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MLB players have earned the right to challenge balls and strikes for the first time this season, which has already led to hundreds of close calls being overturned. However, that was not the case with the pitch that led to Red Sox first baseman Andruw Monasterio getting clowned on by fans after he tried to wriggle his way out of what seemingly every single person but himself knew was a clear-cut strikeout.
Minor league baseball teams have been experimenting with so-called “robot umpires” since 2021, which was the first season the Automated Ball-Strike system was rolled out on a trial basis. It seemed like it was only going to be a matter of time until it made it to the MLB, and that ended up being the case when the current campaign rolled around.
Some baseball purists predictably bristled at the latest example of technology infiltrating America’s Pastime, but the arrival of ABS has turned out to be a very welcome change.
It’s been hard not to derive some schadenfreude from seeing some of the league’s worst umpires having their calls overturned on a regular basis, and you have to imagine they’re getting worried about their jobs becoming obsolete in the not-so-distant future.
Each team starts the game with two challenges and only retains them if they’re successful, which means players need to be careful when it comes to deploying one. Unfortunately, one member of the Red Sox was anything but that during a loss on Tuesday night.
Andruw Monasterio may have already treated us to the worst ABS challenge of the season
ESPN is tracking challenge success rates, and as of Tuesday, Red Sox batters had collectively gotten 45.5% of pitches overturned, which put them at 18th in the league.
Andruw Monasterio was not in the starting lineup when Boston faced off against the Twins in Minnesota on Tuesday night, but he was tapped to replace Willson Contreras at first base after he was taken out of the game in the fifth inning due to a back issue.
Monasterio got his first at-bat of the contest in the top of the sixth with his team in a 5-0 hole, and he was facing a 2-2 count when he was rung up after declining to swing at a slider that made its way over the heart of the plate.
However, he seemed to think it missed the strike zone and subsequently issued a challenge, a development that caused Twins Victor Caratini to shake his head and triggered the replay that confirmed just how much of a strike it was.
ABS confirmed in #RedSox at #Twins (Top 6).
Andruw Monasterio challenged the called strike against Mick Abel.
Called strike confirmed.
HP: Lance Barrett | Upheld 39.1% (9/23).
Result: Andruw Monasterio called out on strikes. pic.twitter.com/1932lMOfRz— ABS Auditor (@ABS_Auditor) April 15, 2026
Monasterio struck out on four pitches (without issuing another challenge) in what ended up being his only other appearance of the game, and the Red Sox fell to 6-11 with a 6-0 loss.