Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jesus Luzardo told reporters and his teammates before spring training began that he wouldn’t use the newly-adopted ABS challenge system at all. He was going to trust J.T. Realmuto and his other catchers to make that decision. One inning into his first start of spring training, that promise was broken.
Luzardo was trying to work out of a jam, and the 3-2 pitch to Boston Red Sox DH Connor Wong was called ball four. Believing it was a strike, Luzardo emphatically began tapping on his head to signal a challenge. “I told (Realmuto) I’d never challenge one all year, and I didn’t even last an inning,” Luzardo told Paul Casella of MLB.com. “I think I’ve got to tell myself to stop a little bit, but I’m for sure leaving it in his hands. I trust him completely.” Casella noted that Realmuto was also tapping his head
in support of his pitcher. After a quick review, the pitch was overturned and called a strike. It’s likely Realmuto and everyone else in the Phillies clubhouse knew Luzardo wouldn’t make it through the entire season without breaking that promise. For him to break it in the first inning of his first spring training outing was surely unexpected. Luzardo trusts his catchers and knows they will make the right decision to support him, but he can now pitch this year without worrying about something as trivial as this. He will be one of the top pitchers for the staff this season, but he will have even more responsibility, along with Cristopher Sanchez, until Zack Wheeler returns from injury.
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