Facing Juan Soto — one of baseball’s best hitters — is tough. But a pitcher doesn’t have to throw a pitch in the strike zone and Soto doesn’t swing at a single pitch, retiring Soto gets easier.
That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday.
Soto jumped ahead 2-0 in his fifth-inning at-bat against Oakland’s Paul Blackburn. Blackburn bounced back, though, striking Soto out. The catch? None of the pitches should have been called strikes. Soto didn’t swing at a single pitch and none were in the strike zone. Nevertheless, umpire John Tumpane sent him packing.
Juan Soto didn't see a strike during this seven pitch at-bat, and still struck out. pic.twitter.com/5EvnaWhZz4
— Sam Luckini (@SamLuckiniESM) April 24, 2024
Quality of umpiring — or lack thereof — has been a talking point of the series since the very beginning. New York manager Aaron Boone was ejected in the first inning of Monday’s game for comments made by a fan, something that umpire Hunter Wendelstedt refused to acknowledge even well after the fact. That was a talking point on Tuesday when Tumpane was frustrated with chatter coming from the Oakland dugout.
So, there was no shortage of commentary a day later when Soto struck out in an at-bat where he saw six balls and zero strikes.
In two days, the @Yankees saw a home plate umpire eject their manager for something he didn’t say and call their star player out on strikes without a single, actual strike being thrown. https://t.co/JUseCPVGFO
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) April 24, 2024
Umpiring is out of control https://t.co/iSfwYFM6Ak
— Peter Rosenberg (@Rosenbergradio) April 24, 2024
This right here screams Robo Umps. This is just pathetic and an embarrassment. #RepBx https://t.co/kLtkIrrDck
— p – Mark (@mark303135) April 24, 2024
I have been advocating for robo umpires. We have the technology to get balls and strikes called correctly. 👇 https://t.co/7cimTm4POU
— FB_Helmet_Guy (@FB_Helmet_Guy) April 24, 2024
the most corrupt organization on this planet @MLBUA https://t.co/LFhRTskwE5
— 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐄 (@FrankiesTwoLoud) April 24, 2024
It feels like umps are actively trying to usher in the robo ump era themselves https://t.co/mlqrD23MIo
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) April 24, 2024
If this was only about the payoff pitch, it would be hard to put too much blame on Tumpane. And of course, there’s something to be said for protecting the plate in a two-strike count. But when three calls were missed, the focus goes on the person who made them.
[Sam Luckini on Twitter/X, Photo Credit: YES Network]
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