Every time we talk about the ABS, there are shouts that it is ruining the game for the catchers and taking the game’s soul away. But then the umpires show us why it is better to have an ABS than blown calls at important moments, like in the WBC game between Team USA and the Dominican Republic.

Why is there no ABS in the World Baseball Classic? Know the reason

The 2026 WBC does not use the ABS system despite MLB testing. The big leagues tested ABS during the 2025 spring training and the 2025 All-Star Game. In those games, 52.2% of challenged calls were overturned, proving the system’s ability, but it is not there on the international stage.

The WBC is still following the rules set by MLB in the past and has not made any changes.

But during the exhibition games between MLB and the national teams, many players saw the difference it can make. There was even a controversy with Ronald Acuña Jr. He was denied an ABS challenge by the umpires in Venezuela’s exhibition game against the Astros on March 3 to dispute a strike call, as the game was following Classic rules.

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The ABS challenge system is in its experimental stages. Meanwhile, many players like Chris Sale are not on board with it.

“I will never challenge a pitch. I will never do it. I am not an umpire. I am a starting pitcher. I’ve never called balls and strikes in my life. Plus, I am greedy. I think they are all strikes… I have dealt with it before. My entire career, there’s been balls called strikes, strikes called balls. You just kind of deal with it. If my catcher has something to say about it, I’ll leave that to him. I’ve dealt with both sides, and I am fine to kind of keep dealing with it,” Sale shared with WSN.

But with the ongoing progress, maybe we will see the ABS in the next edition when players have more experience using it.

Who were the umpires in the USA vs DR game

The WBC game at LoanDepot Park used six umpires, with Cory Blaser calling pitches tonight.

Blaser enters the game with a 93.98 accuracy rate, making him one of the most respected umpires in the league.

Jeremie Rehak entered the game with an accuracy of 94.99%. This makes him one of the highest-rated umpires in MLB.

Crew chief Dan Bellino also had an accuracy of 94.71%.

Delfin Colon (former MLB), Chris Graham (MiLB), and Cuti Suárez (umpire in Spain’s Division de Honor) were the other 3 in the crew.

But with the major umpires in the semifinal game having more than average accuracy, considering the 93-94 percent in MLB, many of the bad calls were unprecedented.

Why was it necessary? Umpiring errors, wrong judgments, and their impact on the WBC so far

The 2026 WBC semifinal between Team USA and the Dominican Republic ended 2-1. But it wasn’t an ending that many fans were happy about.

With 2 outs, Mason Miller faced Geraldo Perdomo with Julio Rodriguez being the game-tying runner at third base. Miller’s pitch dropped a few inches below the zone, but the umpire called it strike 3 and ended the game with a bad call.

It left the 36,337 fans at LoanDepot Park holding their hands up and questioning the umpire.

But that wasn’t the only blown call in the game.

In the 8th inning, when Juan Soto was called out on strikes, the 4th pitch was a couple of inches below the zone. That, too, was called a strike.

With the Dominican lineup having hit 14 homers before the game, every at-bat, every call was going to be important.

That number explains exactly why fans are starting to question the umpires. And with the ABS not in the WBC, the players didn’t even have a chance to appeal the call.

But had there been the ABS system, would DR be able to disrupt Team USA’s 3x advancement to the WBC finals? What are your thoughts?