Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes pleaded with Major League Baseball on Sunday to institute the automated ball-strike (ABS) system after an obvious missed call and a subsequent conversation with the umpire.
The call took place during Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves, with plate umpire Bill Miller calling a strike on a pitch shown to be well outside the strike zone as Hayes was starting toward first base after flipping his bat back for what he thought was a walk.
After chatting with Miller as he went back to retrieve his bat, Hayes struck out on the next pitch.
Hayes said he attempted to discuss the call with Miller after the game and shared his side of the conversation on social media along with an image of the pitch.
"Some umpires really don't care," Hayes posted. "3-1 call not even close. I hold him accountable after the game walking off the field and his response is "[shrug emoji] I gave you a chance to hit a homerun" that tells me you don't care at all.
"No accountability. Bring the ABS please @MLB."
The 26-year-old Hayes, the son of longtime major league third baseman Charlie Hayes, declined to discuss the matter before Monday's 6-2 loss to Washington, saying through a team spokesman that his social media post covered the entirety of his thoughts on the matter.
"It's a very rare situation and he was frustrated, you know?" Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "Sometimes, I think today, we vent in different ways. Not speaking for him in any way, but the point of the matter is every at-bat is important, every at-bat is crucial. The fact that he has the passion for every single pitch I think is really important."
MLB has yet to respond to Hayes' comments.
MLB is testing ABS at the Triple-A level this year. A computer makes the calls for half the games and in the other half, batters, pitchers and catchers can challenge a human umpire, with the computer getting the final say. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said during the All-Star break that the challenge system appears to be the preferred option among those in the minors.
There is no timetable on where, when, or what version of the ABS system could arrive in the majors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.