Yankees' Aaron Boone doesn't hide his thoughts on robot umpires
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NORTH PORT, Fla. — Just over a week into the automated ball-strike system (ABS) experiment, Aaron Boone is not a fan.

Next year, in the regular season, Major League Baseball will implement the ABS challenge system, which allows teams two challenges per game to review a ball or strike call. In the meantime, teams are testing out this system during Grapefruit and Cactus League play.

So far, Boone could very much live without it.

“Overall, taking a step back, big picture, I don’t love it,” Boone said Sunday before an 11-1 loss to the Braves at CoolToday Park.


Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he “didn’t love” the the prospect of MLB adopting the usage of an automated ball-strike system. N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg

Aaron Boone mentioned that he appreciates the drama that comes with the system. The reviews are displayed on the scoreboard, revealing whether a pitch actually hit the strike zone or not.

However, Boone has concerns about how the system might diminish the value of catcher framing, which is considered a strength of the Yankees. He also fears that it could lead to disagreements among players regarding who should get to use the challenges.

One potential tweak? Boone said he would be interested in teams getting one challenge each that they could use from the seventh inning on for big spots in a tight game.

But the current setup is not Boone’s cup of tea.

“Like [Saturday], when you’re just seeing it sporadically throughout the game, there’s eight, nine, 10 [challenges] — that feels weird to me,” Boone said.

“I know coming from me, it sounds funny, but I really think these guys have gotten so good back there as a whole,” added Boone, who has 39 career ejections. “I feel like they keep getting better and better that I don’t think I want anything to change.”


Clarke Schmidt said he felt “great” throwing one inning of live batting practice Saturday in his first action since being bothered by a “cranky” back last week.


Clarke Schmidt, pictured on Feb. 20, threw an inning of live batting practice Sunday for the Yankees.
Clarke Schmidt, pictured on Feb. 20, threw an inning of live batting practice Sunday for the Yankees. Charles Wenzelberg

“I felt great out there and had no issues today,’’ Schmidt said Sunday at Steinbrenner Field. “I feel like I’m back on track, which is a relief.”

Schmidt will likely throw another live batting practice early this week before getting into a spring training game.


After Sunday’s game, the Yankees reassigned catcher Ronaldo Hernández to minor league camp. … Max Fried will make his spring debut on Monday night against the Pirates at Steinbrenner Field.

— Additional reporting by Dan Martin in Tampa

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