The ability of umpires to make the right call during games has come into question in recent years.
There are some moments in time when umpires blatantly miss a call, and it draws the ire of team it went against.
On Tuesday night, Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges experienced one of those moments during Cleveland’s game against the Detroit Tigers.
In the top of the first inning, Tyler Freeman threw Javier Baez out at the plate, but the call was ultimately overturned, as the umpires ruled that Hedges didn’t give Baez a clear enough path.
In his postgame interview, Hedges went off on the umpires and offered a brutally honest assessment of the state of the game.
Austin Hedges offers a very strong assessment of the umpiring in tonight's game.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/ntClCEZhCc
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) August 17, 2022
Hedges Digs Into Umpires
Hedges did not hold back on the umpires after last night’s call.
The crux of Hedges’ assessment was that the umpires feel the need to take over the game and change the way it’s been played for a long time, and he didn’t miss the mark in the slightest.
Time and time again, these umpires seem to think that the game is about them and that they can use their power to negatively impact the game, at least from a player or fan’s point of view.
Whether Baez had a clear enough path to get to the plate or not is irrelevant.
Hedges correctly pointed out that the umpires seem to pick moments where they can show their power over the game, while also pointing out that there isn’t much accountability on their end and that the players are usually the ones to pay the price in these situations.
Ultimately, the Guardians lost the game by a final of 4-3, with Hedges citing the call as the moment that cost Cleveland the game.
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