What Tim Corbin Said About ABS System at the SEC Baseball Tournament – Sports Illustrated

The newest addition to the SEC Baseball Tournament made its debut Tuesday.
The SEC decided to implement the new ABS system for this year’s conference tournament. The ABS system allows catchers, batters and pitchers to challenge an umpire’s call if they feel the umpire made the incorrect call.
In Vanderbilt’s first round win over No. 13 seed Kentucky, the Commodores decided to test out the new addition to Hoover Met for themselves. It took a few innings for Vanderbilt to finally use it, but Commodores catcher Korbin Reynolds won three ABS system challenges in the 8-5 win.
“Good. From what I saw in the first game, I think the biggest adjustment's going to be the umpire, to be honest with you, because they've called strikes and balls according to how they see it. And now it's that 2D box. A hitter, because of machines and what you train with, it might be a little bit easier for them to understand where the ball is,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said on his first impressions of ABS implementation.
Missouri was the first team to utilize ABS. In the top of the first inning against Ole Miss, the Tigers won a challenge against the umpire’s call. During the game, Missouri catcher Mateo Cerna won seven of his eight challenges.
In Major League Baseball, the implementation of ABS into the league has been received well among both players and fans. Fans have been able to find entertainment with ABS while players are able to vindicate themselves if they disagree with a call.
Corbin seems to share that same sentiment.
“I like it a lot. I think it helps both sides. I think it's clear. Anything that takes the emotion out of the game from a call is a good thing for baseball. And I'm not concerned with the time element whatsoever. We've got to do a job on picks, that's probably what we've got to do. We've got to get rid of that. That's for another day. But I think it's good,” Corbin said.
The biggest question for all 16 SEC teams heading into this week’s tournament is how each team will go about when to challenge a call. With three available challenges to lose during a game, some teams may want to wait until a crucial moment later in a game to use their challenges.
For Vanderbilt, its approach to challenging calls is all up to the instincts of the players. If one of the guys feels like a challenge is necessary, Corbin is fine with his player challenging a pitch. It all comes down to the trust he has with his players.
“I think you know when the game is in the balance where a pitch could potentially make a difference and you know when it's not. You just have to be wise. I trust these guys. They're smart,” Corbin said. “And the guy [Reynolds] behind the plate is very good at what he does. He's very intelligent. He's a military kid. So I feel like if he makes a choice, I'd ride with him every day.”
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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