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So what does my decision matrix look like? It makes for a very complex table, I’m afraid, boiling down the game state, the batter, the pitcher, the platoon considerations within that matchup, and the count. I would start the process before the batter walks to the plate, perhaps with a red/green system the batter sees from the dugout, perhaps via the third-base coach.
-- Only my best hitters can challenge the first two times through the order. Sorry, Kyle Isbel, but we need to save the challenges for Bobby Witt Jr.’s use.
-- No batter can challenge without at least one runner in scoring position.
-- No pitcher can ever challenge.
MLB reported the success rates on challenges last spring: catchers 56%, batters 50%, pitchers 41%. This makes sense, as catchers have a great angle, batters a lesser one, and pitchers are finishing up their motion as the pitch crosses the plate. I would have a blanket “pitchers can never challenge” policy and make rare situational or player-specific exceptions to that.
The rules for catchers are the same -- reserve challenges for good hitters, for higher-leverage situations, for the critical counts. Let Ceddanne Rafaela take a Kyle Bradish slider to get to 1-1 in the bottom of the second even if you think the call was wrong. You’ll be fine. A red/green system signaled from the dugout can manage catchers’ use of challenges, too.
