New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge struck out looking in the first inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night, a harbinger of things to come.
As they had done six times before this season, the Yankees ultimately fell to their hated rivals, 1-0. Boston now leads the season series 7-1.
But that Judge strikeout was noteworthy and has fans furious.
Judge didn’t take the bat off his shoulder at any point during the four-pitch at-bat and with good reason. After the first pitch was called a ball, the two-time MVP watched three more pitchers hit the catcher’s mitt outside of the zone.
Each was erroneously called a strike.
Although two were close and framed well by catcher Connor Wong, none were in the zone, which is evident when looking at the pitch tracking.
Yankees analyst Paul O’Neill called it as he saw it.
“You know what, that could’ve been an at-bat where not one ball was actually in the strike zone,” he said during the YES broadcast.
In the game’s aftermath, fans have called for the “immediate firing” of home plate umpire Lance Barrett.
“Home plate umpire Lance Barrett called all three pitches to Judge as strikes in the 1st inning. Not one was in the strike zone. This is unacceptable. He should be fined and suspended,” one fan wrote on X.
“That ump last night will be working Chiefs games this fall,” another quipped.
Other fans began calling for robot umpires and AI strike zones.
“I mean when does AI put these bozos out of a job? Taking the bat right out of the player’s hands,” a frustrated fan wrote.
Although Judge looked frustrated, he didn’t say a word to Barrett. Manager Aaron Boone muttered something, but the protest was minimal, and the game proceeded.
