Monday’s tiebreaker game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs was so exciting that even the home plate umpire had trouble keeping track of the count.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, home plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth emphatically rang up Jason Heyward for the last out of the inning. While you have to appreciate the enthusiasm in such a big game, there was one problem — the strike was only the second of the at-bat.
There is so much to love about the crowd reactions to umpire Fieldin Culbreth's mistaken "punchout" call on a 3-1 pitch. #Game163 pic.twitter.com/p4kd9OYXR9
— Pitcher List (@PitcherList) October 1, 2018
Heyward’s reaction said it all, and it looked like Culbreth was able to have a laugh at his own expense. Heyward sent the next pitch to the warning track in right, coming up just a few feet short of the perfect ending to the at-bat. It’s been a long season for everyone, so you can’t blame Culbreth for briefly getting swept up in the buzz surrounding Game 163.
