Baseball, known for its passionate fan base and intense rivalries, often witnesses controversial moments that ignite heated debates among fans and pundits. It majorly comes from the umpiring crew’s confusing and subjective calls. Most recently, a swing call during the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers game caused a lot of rage among the Yankee fan base.
In the sport of baseball, a strike zone is an imaginary box that lies parallel to the waist of the hitter. The pitcher is supposed to pitch within the limit of that box for it to be called a legal pitch. However, since that box is imaginary, the plate umpire often makes decisions over strike or swing calls to the best of their judgment of the exact positioning of the strike zone. Hence, the decisions remain highly subjective, and sometimes the umpire gets it horribly wrong, which prompts the fans to cook up conspiracy theories. The recent event that occurred during the Yankees game serves as the best example.
Fans Bash Umpiring Crew For Swing Call Ruled Against The Yankees Favor
The New York Yankees faced the LA Dodgers last weekend. During a series finale on Sunday, a controversial call raked up the baseball fraternity. In the sixth inning, with one out, Dodgers’ rookie James Outman lined up to face Yankees starter Domingo German. With a count of 3-2 on the board, Outman took a swing but failed to connect. The plate umpire was unsure of the landing of the pitch as he sought the intervention of the third base umpire, who called it a ball. That was the fourth ball, and Outman earned a free walk. The Bronx Bombers catcher and manager were perplexed over the decision and even tried to protest.
However, these sets of calls are non-reviewable. Hence, the Yankees had to accept their fate. Fortunately, it did not hurt the visitors much, as they recorded a 4-1 win. Regardless, the controversial call caught the Yankee fan base’s attention, who could but help but call the umpiring crew out. Some even labeled it as “cheating,” while others asked for MLB’s intervention over plate umpire’s dubious decisions. A few fractions of the fans even questioned Aaron Boone‘s toned-down aggression over the issue. Boone has already faced four ejections and a one-game suspension for his heated debates. Hence, he avoided this one to face any further actions. Nevertheless, MLB authorities must consider bringing in changes to avert such subjective call as it hampers the team’s results.
Homeplate calls have ruined the many games so far this season and it’s time for the @MLB to do something about it.
— JaxVoter (@VoterJax) June 5, 2023
It’s not fair to the teams.
It’s not fair to the players.
It’s not fair to the fans.
Stop ruining the game with jerk calls. https://t.co/ZX3Xkbp4MQ
The umpires hate the Yankees this year https://t.co/mD3Eo1joRC
— Conner Collette (@ccollette28) June 5, 2023
boone should’ve gone full fucking rabid chihuahua on them for this https://t.co/NxaNxzqzhR
— tiff (@judge62homer) June 5, 2023
What a horrid call from the umpiring crew. HORRID https://t.co/dbGGYxLuUE
— Paul Vieira (@paulvieira) June 5, 2023
Bombers Clinch Series Win Against Dodgers Without Cap Aaron Judge
With series on the line, the New York Yankees faced a major blow as their lost their captain, Aaron Judge to a toe injury. The odds quickly shifted toward the home favorites. However, the Yankees are known for putting up a fight, and this time, it was a rookie who saved the day. The team already had a one-run lead in the ninth inning, which the Dodgers looked poised to attain.
Just then, Anthony Volpe launched a giant two-run homer over the left field to provide some insurance runs for the team. That very hit saved the day as the Yankees secured yet another series win to close down the west coast road trip successfully. The team will now move back to New York for the next stretch of home games which begins with a series against the Chicago White Sox.
