Last Updated on April 3, 2024 at 11:17 am by John Allen
Follow UsNew York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is enduring a rough start to the 2024 season, and questionable calls from the umpires aren’t helping his cause.
On Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Aaron Judge faced off against dominant pitcher Zac Gallen in the third inning. Despite battling Gallen to a full count, the Yankees superstar, known for his imposing stature and power hitting, was called out on a strike that appeared to be well below the strike zone.
Aaron Judge, typically known for his composure even in heated situations, displayed visible frustration with the call. This incident adds to a growing list of questionable strike calls against him throughout his career. Remarkably, the New York Yankees captain has never been ejected from a game despite these frustrations.
Aaron Judge strikeout call incites fan anger
The latest strikeout has reignited discussions about the ongoing issue of questionable umpiring decisions in Major League Baseball. Fans expressed their discontent with the call, highlighting the need for potential solutions to improve the accuracy of strike zone calls and enhance the fairness of the game.
What do you think? leave your comment below.
My question really is: At what point does the MLBPA or the Yankees front office do something drastic? YES Network last night had a very telling stat about pitches low that were called strikes: Judge us the leader with 489 such strikes. #2? that Xander Boegarts with 368 duck called pitches. That is called a runaway leader. But nothing will happen to the umpires because MLB umpires cannot lose their jobs due to their performance.
EXCELLENT POINT, AlanFromQueens! The MLBPA should do something about AWFUL UMPIRES who call balls 2-3 inches outside the Strike Zone a Strike. That’s Gross Incompetence!
How in the world does MLB, the Owners, and their GUTLESS Commissioner allow this parade of God-AWFUL Umpires Go on Year After Year After Year?!
489 GROSS MISTAKES BY UMPIRES against Judge Alone & Not One Umpire Gets Fired for that?! In any other profession, those men would have been fired after the second or third time that they made such an egregious error.
Umpires are treated like tenured teachers, if they ONLY FIGURATIVELY RAPE A PLAYER on the field, they get to keep their job.
When players do something egregious, get in an on-field fight, throw at a batter, curse out an umpire, or do something wrong off the field, MLB PROUDLY ANNOUNCES THEIR SUSPENSION & FINE.
SO, WHY ARE IMMUNE FROM SIMILAR TREATMENT? Why aren’t their Fines Publicly Announced? Why are Umpires Immune from Being Publicly Reprimanded by MLB, UNLIKE Players, Managers, Coaches, and even Owners, such as George’s suspension many years ago?
Hell, are Umpires even fined when they make GOD AWFUL CALLS, like the one on Judge? And why do we NEVER, EVER HEAR OF AN UMPIRE BEING SUSPENDED OR FIRED FOR GROSS INCOMPETENCE?!
Are we supposed to believe that Umpires, Unlike All Other Human Beings, are INFALLIBLE?
Everybody with a working brain knows that Robert Manfred, the comically named “Commissioner” of Baseball, is just a STOOGE for the Owners. But it would be nice if Manfred FAKED Being a Real Commission & Issued a Statement like the following, for the good of baseball:
“Umpires who Consistently* call Balls 2-inches or more outside the Strike-Zone Strikes will be Fined their Full Pay for that Day’s Game, and Any Umpire who has 5 Such Incidents in a Calendar Year will be Fired for Gross Incompetence & for Harming the Integrity of the Game.”
*For example, you could define “Consistently* call(s) Balls . . . Strikes” as any umpire who has 5 Blatantly bad calls a game. That is, pitches that are 2 inches or more outside the strike zone. Also, if an umpire’s in-game stats show that he Consistently Calls Balls Strikes on a Given Player over the course of two or more years, such as the Consistently Bad calls made on Judge & Boegarts, than that umpire will be Terminated on the grounds that the umpire, by his actions, has A Personal Animus Against Said Player, and his actions are “harming the Integrity of the Game.”
If the above was instituted, at least 5-6 umpires would be fired just for their Awful Calls against Judge the last 7 years or so. Moreover, if Judge didn’t have 60+ Balls called Strikes every year, he probably would have Hit 75+ Homers the year he hit 62, which would have eliminated the Blight on Baseball History of Bonds’ PHONY Steroid-Induced single-season HR Record. BUT MANFRED IS TOO STUPID TO SEE THAT! Umpires who Consistently call Balls Strikes ARE Harming the Integrity of the Game, and they should be fined & fired, if their incompetence continues.
Since Manfred is Too Gutless to do the above, Hal should Publicly Blast the Umpires who consistently call Balls Strikes on Judge. Hal has Every Right to Do So because those Umpires are Detracting from the Value of His Team & His Biggest Star, which, he can reasonably argue, is Adversely affecting the sale of tickets & merchandising.
And if the Manfred fined Hal for going public with his complaints, he should turn around & SUE MANFRED for Violating His 1st Amendment Right to Freedom of Speech. And while I believe there is a clause that supposedly prevents owners from doing that, no clause can LEGALLY take away a citizen’s 1st Amendment Rights. So, Sue Manfred, if necessary. Moreover, it would be Hilarious to see Hal show a Video to a Jury of the almost 500 Egregiously Bad Calls Against Judge; imagine how Humiliating That would be for Manfred!
Finally, Judge MUST take a page out of Soto’s playbook. When an Umpire makes a bad call against you, do NOT REMAIN SILENT about it. I’ve already seen Soto let Umpires know, multiple times this season, Hey, you got that one wrong. And when the umpire insists he was right, Soto emphatically shakes his head No & says, “No, you were wrong.”
Judge only speaks up maybe twice a year. These Incompetent Umpires are Damaging YOUR CAREER & the Yankees’ Chances of Winning, Aaron! Do NOT let them get away with 489 More Bullsh*t Calls on You: SPEAK THE F-UP EVERY TIME THEY SCREW YOU, AARON!