Baseball is a constantly developing sport, and a recent rule change will have a significant impact on pitchers and catchers. When players think the home plate umpire missed a call, they will challenge it for a few seconds. Each side will have two challenges every game, and if a call is reversed, they will receive the challenge back.
According to Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, “On Tuesday, the Joint Competition Committee approved the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System, powered by T-Mobile, for use at the MLB level beginning in 2026.” It’s another technical step forward for a league that has long had video review but has never allowed clubs to challenge a home-plate umpire’s decision on ball-strike rulings.
The old-timers are already mourning the loss of catch framing ability, but Angels fans should not be concerned considering who their catcher is.
Angels catcher has a great chance to revitalize career with MLB’s new ABS rule change
Logan O’Hoppe is one of baseball’s poorest catchers at stealing strikes, ranking ninth among MLB catchers this season in terms of pitch framing. He has talked all season about improving his technique, and he has modified his catching stance several times to better position himself for oncoming pitches. O’Hoppe appears to be in his own mind this season, refining his game, since he has had a fairly dismal season in terms of self-imposed and fan expectations.
Both O’Hoppe and Angels fans expect him to be a franchise cornerstone, but he still has a lot of work to do to meet his lofty expectations. De-emphasizing pitch framing might really benefit him, as the 25-year-old is definitely eager to improve himself. Pressing as he has can be extremely destructive to a player, and perhaps now he can relax and concentrate much more on his bat-to-ball abilities, swing judgments, throws from behind the plate, and so on.
With this recent regulation change, O’Hoppe’s worth can only increase. He can devote significantly more time to honing his renowned offensive game rather than receiving pitches, and perhaps he will finally realize his full potential next season. The Angels are one of the worst teams in history when it comes to strikeouts, and O’Hoppe is perhaps the biggest reason for it. He can now focus far more on minimizing his offensive shortcomings, and both the Angels and he may benefit greatly as a result.
