Home plate umpire Chad Whitson got caught in a memorable hot mic moment Thursday while firing back at New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.
Mendoza and the Mets were unhappy after a pitch by closer Edwin Diaz was called low on 3-0 in the 9th inning of Thursday’s game against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field in New York, N.Y. Mendoza could be seen barking at Whitson from the dugout, prompting the umpire to fire back with a savage reply.
“I can’t make them up. I’m not a magician,” Whitson said.
"I can't make them up, I'm not a magician"
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Umpire Chad Whitson has had enough of Carlos Mendoza😂 pic.twitter.com/0tIcdf43CF
To be fair to Whitson, Diaz’s pitch did look low, and he appeared to get the call right. Sometimes umpires give extra leeway to pitchers on 3-0 pitches, which Whitson did not do here.
The Mets undoubtedly were experiencing some frustration because of the circumstances of the game. Diaz had just loaded the bases with nobody out while protecting a 4-1 lead. He did manage to escape and get the save after allowing two runs in a 4-3 victory.
We’ve been getting a lot of umpire hot mic moments this season, and some of them have been pretty entertaining. Whitson’s response here — essentially telling a manager that his guy should start throwing strikes — was definitely one of them.
