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'You Can't Defeat The Robots!' Baseball Fans Cheer For Coach's 'Robo Ump' Meltdown
Major League Baseball’s latest update caused a coach to short-circuit during Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles.
Twins manager Derek Shelton was ejected from the game after losing his cool at the umpires when one of his players was denied a base under the new pitch challenge tech, the Automated Ball-Strike system.
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The MLB officially debuted ABS during Wednesday’s season opener, putting in place a long-debated program that allows players to dispute home-plate calls with the help of 12 computer-driven cameras that analyze the strike zone.
The Twins were two runs behind with two men on base and just one out when Orioles pitcher Ryan Helsley walked first baseman Josh Bell. But Helsley tapped his head to call for the “robo umpire” to review the pitch, which determined it had just clipped the edge of the strike zone.
Denied the chance for the Twins to load the bases, Shelton stormed out of the dugout to argue with the umps.
Twins manager Derek Shelton was LIVID as he argued that Ryan Helsley didn't challenge this call fast enough pic.twitter.com/NnsgUb3iap
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 29, 2026
“Derrick Shelton’s been thrown out! He’s arguing with the robots! You can’t defeat the robots!” broadcaster Kevin Brown shouted after the umps decided they’d had enough of Shelton’s rage.
Apparently, Shelton wasn’t upset about the computers’ call, but over whether the Orioles pitcher had asked for the challenge fast enough.
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“I didn’t think Helsley tapped his cap quick enough,” Shelton told The Atlantic. “Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. But I didn’t feel he did.”
Online, sports fans were delighted by the extra drama the challenge system had caused.
“WE HAVE OUR FIRST EVER ABS RAGE BAIT EJECTION,” one X user posted.
“I have no idea whether MLB realized what this was as going to do to the fan experience, but they definitely hit the jackpot,” another wrote.
ABS has already revealed some interesting data about umpires, the most polarizing men on the baseball field. Pitching analytics company Codify Baseball broke down the challenges and discovered that the MLB’s 10 oldest umpires had a 69% overturn average, while the 10 youngest umpires’ reversal rate clocked in at 39%.
