The New York Yankees dropped their seventh straight game to their arch rivals, the Boston Red Sox, on Friday night. This time, a 1-0 defeat pushed them half a game behind the Red Sox in the AL East standings. The offense was overmatched yet again by Brayan Bello. And later by Aroldis Chapman, who finished the game in the ninth inning.

Bello, in particular, pitched seven scoreless innings. He gave up just three hits, walked one, and struck out five. With this win, the Red Sox guaranteed at least a split in this four-game series, as two games are yet to be played.

The first showdown between Aaron Judge and Brayan Bello ignited immediate controversy due to a series of questionable calls. Facing Brayan Bello for the first time in the game, Judge stood at the plate and watched four straight pitches go by. Despite none of the pitches appearing to be in the strike zone, home plate umpire Lance Barrett called three of them strikes, sending a disbelieving Judge back to the dugout on a called strikeout instead of granting him first base with a walk

The Yanks were, quite naturally, in disbelief, and this wasn’t the first time they had a disagreement with Barrett behind the plate. In September 2023, Aaron Boone yelled at Barrett over balls and strikes during the Blue Jays-Yankees game. Eventually, Barrett ejected him.

Coming to Friday night, after three consecutive strike calls, fans didn’t hold back. This has now reignited the calls for MLB to scrap human umpires for robo umps again. Throughout this season, over the strike calls, the fans have been urging the league to bring in an automated ball-strike system in regular games.

Calls for ABS system are growing louder than ever now

From calls for automated systems to outright disbelief at Barrett’s umpiring, social media lit up with harsh takes after controversial strike calls on Aaron Judge. This season, MLB fans have clearly seen enough human errors. “That umpire stinks; that’s how much the ABS Challenge System is needed to end the abuse that those charlatans have at MLB,” wrote a fan.

The last time the ABS challenge system was used was back in July during the All-Star game. For the regular games, MLB’s Joint Competition Committee is expected to meet this year to determine whether the system will debut in the Majors in 2026.

Another fan pointed out: “Highway robbery.” Apparently, it’s sports slang. Whenever a player is hard done by a questionable umpiring call, it’s highway robbery in the eyes of fans. “This is why umps are not going to have a job in 5 years,” another fan chimed in.

It’s because fans are inclined more towards robots than towards human umpires. According to MLB officials, 72% of fans who were polled during spring training for ABS. They said the impact of ABS on their experience at the game was a “positive” one.

One more fan noted: “Aaron Judge knows the strike zone better than most umps.” But hey, despite being frustrated, Judge neither argued nor complained about the calls. He quietly walked back to the dugout.

Some took a hilarious jab at the Red Sox: “The Red Sox needing to pay the umps to beat an Aaron Boone-coached team—I’m actually crying 😭😭😭😭.” It was a sarcastic remark on biased officiating.

It’s the accumulation of contentious calls throughout the season that has led to increased scrutiny from the fanbase for human umpires. Nevertheless, what’s your take on the ABS system?