Spring training is for getting your work in, staying healthy, getting ready for Opening Day, and, in Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner’s case, trolling your friends.
The three-time All-Star faced off against former teammate Max Scherzer Sunday afternoon as the Phillies took on the Toronto Blue Jays, and Turner used the first pitch he saw to poke some fun at the future Hall of Famer.
After Scherzer voiced his displeasure with the new ABS system that Major League Baseball is using on an experimental basis at spring training to call balls and strikes, Turner decided to have some fun with it. He took a clear strike on the first pitch and immediately challenged the call.
“I was hoping the first pitch would be right down the middle,” he said, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
“I don’t think he realized that I challenged it,” he continued. “And then we were just laughing. It was good. In the regular season, it would really piss him off. But now he’s kind of faking his little act. But I knew. I just wanted to see his eyes roll. That’s what I was going for.”
Scherzer took it in stride, as cameras caught him smirking as he delivered his next pitch.
“Just some good heat going on behind the scenes there,” Scherzer said. “Trea and I, we’re good friends, so we’ll have a laugh. They’re just messing with me. There was a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes there. I can’t take these at-bats seriously. These are practice games going against good friends of mine. Too many good stories together and Trea is obviously one of my favorite teammates of all time.”
MLB ABS system has earned positive reviews in spring training
MLB is testing the automated strike-calling system in spring training around the league, whether the Phillies and Blue Jays like it or not. We will not see it in the 2025 regular season, but that doesn’t mean it won’t eventually make its way to the games that count.
In a small sample size, some MLB players have liked it. New Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Corbin Burnes told Sportico that the system worked well for them. Burnes recalled one close call against the second batter he faced that his battery mate, Gabriel Moreno, decided to challenge.
“He looked at me like ‘should I do it?’ I said, ‘Go ahead, you’re the one catching. You know the zone better than I do,’” Burnes said. “Good thing he did.”
“I totally forgot about the ABS until I threw that pitch and everyone started yelling. Moreno tapped his head, and it turned out to be a punch out,” he said. “As of today, I liked the ABS. Ask me the next time I go out.”
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