Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz. (Kathy Stratman-USA TODAY Sports)
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The Tampa Bay Rays had a chance to tie or pull ahead of the Yankees, but the home plate umpire called the most ridiculous hit of the season.
Are robot umpires inevitable in baseball? On the one hand, losing the “human element” can be terrifying. Human referees, on the other hand, have a way of making the biggest argument against their involvement.
On Saturday, it was home plate umpire Sean Barber who made the case for the robots.
In the top of the eighth, the Rays trailed the Yankees 9-8, but they had a man on second base with Yandy Diaz on a full count. New York pitcher Clay Holmes sent a pitch about a foot outside the strike zone, and Diaz prepared to take his place at first. Except he couldn’t because Barber threw a ridiculous strike.
Diaz officially struck out, and the inning ended with the score still 9-8 in New York’s favor.
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To be fair, Reyes may not do anything on both men. For all we know, Vander Franco could have stepped up to the plate and lined up at shortstop to end it. That’s what he did when he went up in the top of the ninth.
The outcome of the game could have remained unchanged. Although that’s not really a problem because Tampa Bay could also have a million other results from Franco’s atl if he got one.
The point is that umpires are called upon to get balls and strike calls right. If some feel fuzzy on the edge of the strike zone, that’s one thing. But a ball that far from the plate should never result in a hit.
All baseball fans want is for the officials to get things right. And if robots are better at it, so be it.