Latest news with #Rangers-Rays
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Calls Mount for Umpire's Immediate Firing After Rangers-Rays Game
Calls Mount for Umpire's Immediate Firing After Rangers-Rays Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Congratulations are in order for veteran umpire Laz Díaz, who quietly set an MLB record earlier this week. Advertisement Unfortunately for Díaz, as well as anyone against the Automated Ball-Strike System, we never said it was the good type of history. Those watching Tuesday's Texas Rangers-Tampa Bay Rays game saw Díaz call a third strike on Rays left fielder Jake Magnum. Anyone watching likely immediately noticed the ball was well outside the strike zone. How egregious was Díaz's call? The Umpire Auditor X/Twitter account found that Rangers pitcher Tyler Mahle's pitch missed outside by 6.83 inches. 'With that call,' Umpire Auditor wrote, 'Laz Diaz has taken the crown from Angel Hernández for the worst called strikeout in Umpire Auditor history.' Advertisement Hernández previously set the record in April 2024, in a game ironically also featuring the Rangers. Texas designated hitter Wyatt Langford struck out on a pitch that was 6.78 inches outside the strike zone. 'I'm so serious this should be grounds to finally fire Laz Diaz,' wrote one X/Twitter user. Added another: 'Now that Angel is gone, we gotta put our time and effort getting Laz Diaz off the [expletive] field.' MLB umpire Laz Díaz in 2024Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images Thankfully for the Rays, they survived Díaz's strike zone to win 5-1. Diaz previously turned heads in April after a heated viral argument with Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Luvollo. Advertisement "The MLB has to pressure Laz Diaz into retiring the same way they did with Angel Hernández," an X user argued. "He's just as bad (if not worse!) but never had the infamous popularity for some reason as Angel." Hernández retired in May 2024 after 34 seasons. Diaz has been a full-time umpire since 1999 and became a crew chief in 2022. "If you know the ump's name, chances are he [expletive] sucks at his job," one commenter suggested. Related: Fans Outraged at Umpire Over Calls in Phillies-Athletics Related: Fans Outraged Over What Umpire Did in Mets-Yankees This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Outraged Fans Call for Umpire Jordan Baker's Firing After Blue Jays-Twins Game
Outraged Fans Call for Umpire Jordan Baker's Firing After Blue Jays-Twins Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Major League Baseball has all but made it clear that the Automated Ball-Strike System isn't coming to the regular season anytime soon. Advertisement Veteran umpire Jordan Baker might be the latest to make league officials reconsider that stance. The Umpire Auditor X/Twitter account found that Baker missed 19 calls during Friday's Toronto Blue Jays-Minnesota Twins game. Baker notably struck out and subsequently ejected pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers in the eighth inning after arguing a low strike. Jeffers represented the tying run in the Blue Jays' eventual 6-4 victory. The Umpire Scorecard account reported that Baker called 132 of 149 pitches (88.6%) correctly, the 15th-worst performance of any umpire this year. However, both accounts agreed that the Jeffers incident marked the game's most significant missed call. Advertisement Whether Baker missed 17 or 19 missed calls, social media users demanded the league fire the 43-year-old ump. "Fire all the umps," one fan wrote. "Bring on the computers." Added another: "Cheat ump that deserves to be fired." Numerous users argued that Baker's height, at 6 feet 7 inches, could impact his ability to call balls and strikes accurately. Baker is the tallest active MLB umpire, and he's correctly called just over 94% of pitches in 12 games this year. Home plate umpire Jordan Baker in 2024Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images 'He is notorious for missing pitches below the knees,' an X user argued. 'But [the Major League Baseball Umpires Association] ignores this problem & he continues to have trouble calling the low pitches.' Advertisement 'He's clearly positioned too low,' commented another. 'His head is below the catchers. How does he expect to see those low pitches accurately?' Unfortunately for the Twins, they've been involved in two of the worst umpire performances thus far. Adrian Johnson missed 23 of 130 calls (nearly 17.7%) in the Twins' 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on May 10. 'But he won't be punished fined or suspended for incompetence,' read one reply. Related: Calls Mount for Umpire's Immediate Firing After Rangers-Rays Game Related: Fans Outraged at Umpire Over Calls in Phillies-Athletics This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
