Mets and Pirates broadcasters couldn’t believe the umpire’s questionable strike zone.
Saturday’s game between the New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates included a series of missed calls by home plate umpire John Tumpane, which left both the Mets and Pirates broadcast teams as stunned and furious.
Tumpane had a poor striking zone throughout the game. But it became more clear in the bottom of the seventh inning, possibly the most important moment of the game for both teams.
The Pirates were able to load the bases while losing 5-2, with outfielder Jack Suwinski leading the way at the plate. His at-bat included some questionable strike calls, to say the least. The second pitch of the at-bat and the fifth pitch, which would have been ball four, were both firmly below the strike zone.
The Pirates broadcast team on Sportsnet Pittsburgh, comprising of Greg Brown and Kevin Young, were immediately furious by the missed call, which would have made it 5-3 if Suwinski had drawn a walk.
Strike called, my goodness,” Brown exclaimed. “It should be 5-3! “Oh, Brother!”
“It’s unbelievable,” stated Young. “Unbelievable. That pitch was not just low, but it was also comfortably off the plate.
Meanwhile, the Mets broadcast team on SNY, comprised of Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez, had to confess that the Mets got away with some extremely fortunate strike calls on these pitches.
“Wow,” commented Hernandez. Oh my goodness… That is, umm… “That was ball four.”
Understandably, the Pirates’ dugout was furious about these missed calls. Derek Shelton, the Pirates manager, began shouting at Tumpane. Tumpane quickly ejected him from the game.
Suwinski struck out swinging on the next ball, ruining the Pirates’ best chance of the game to mount a comeback. The Mets would go on to win 5-2, maintaining their lead throughout.
To be honest, no one knows what would have happened if Suwinski had drawn a walk, as he certainly should have in this at-bat. However, the Pirates were certainly robbed of at least one chance to score a big inning due to John Tumpane’s missed calls.
Derek Shelton was asked in his postgame news conference about his ejection and what led up to it, and he wisely declined to further embarrass himself while confirming that he believed it was the incorrect call.
“From my perspective point? I believe you understood what I said, and I should probably refrain from making any further comments,” Shelton added. “So, you saw that, and you saw how I responded. Jack (Suwinski) doesn’t react… Probably one of the coolest men. So he reacts like that, and the (pitch) clock starts so quickly. As you can tell by the raspiness in my voice right now, I wasn’t particularly pleased with it. As I previously stated, you are welcome to review them and let me know what you think.”
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