Bad Calls in World Series Had Everyone Talking About Robot Umps

In Monday’s Hot Clicks: Umpiring takes center stage at the World Series, Sam Darnold gets trolled by the Jags and more.

Is it time for robot umps?

Fox

After Game 5 of the World Series there’s one thing on every baseball fan’s mind. Not the question of how differently things might have gone if Max Scherzer wasn’t scratched. Not the Astros being on the verge of a dynasty-making win. Not even the frosty reception of a certain world leader. 

It’s the umpiring, and specifically whether that job should continue to be conducted by human beings. 

Players on both sides took issue with Lance Barksdale’s calls behind the plate throughout the night but there were two calls that were particularly egregious. 

The first came in the top of the sixth with Tanner Rainey pitching for the Nats. Rainey threw a perfect fastball on the lower inside corner that froze Michael Brantley. Catcher Yan Gomes was just about to start throwing the ball around the horn when Barksdale called it a ball. 

The call of note was this one that went against Nationals outfielder Victor Robles, on a Gerrit Cole fastball that sure looked like it missed wide for ball four. 

Those examples have two words on everybody’s lips: robot umps. 

It’s not just the braying masses on Twitter, either. The Washington Post’s Adam Kilgore asked several Nationals players about whether ball and strike calls should be automated and over at ESPN, Jeff Passan says the robotic zone isn’t a matter of if but when.

I used to be pretty staunchly against robot umps but after last night now I’m not so sure. I thought the need for players to adjust to an umpire who was giving more strike calls on the black on the inside of the plate and fewer on the outside was something that made baseball unique and interesting.

But let’s go back to that Yan Gomes play and pay closer attention to the exchange between the catcher and the umpire. You can hear Barksdale say to Gomes, “You were taking off on me.” And Gomes replies, “Oh, it’s my fault?” What you have there is an umpire refusing to call a strike because he doesn’t appreciate that the catcher assumes it’s a strike. The ump should never insert his ego into the game like that, and even more so in a World Series game. Electronic pitch-tracking machines don’t have egos.

Sam Darnold won’t hear the end of this

In the wake of his instantly famous “seeing ghosts” comment from Monday Night Football, the Jaguars rubbed salt in the wound repeatedly in Sunday’s game in Jacksonville. 

Darnold threw three picks in a Jets loss but said the taunts didn’t bother him. 

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He... tossed it right to him

I thought NFL refs would have learned this by now

I’m sure all the Brits in the stadium knew exactly what was happening here

The Rams are in London, so they decided to get cheeky 😮

(via @thecheckdown)pic.twitter.com/27X89P52ax

— The MMQB (@theMMQB) October 27, 2019

FSU did it better

Deshaun Watson is going to be a star for a long time

Tackling Saquon is nearly impossible

Saquon Barkley is a GROWN MAN 😡😡 @saquon pic.twitter.com/PK8tnbzef8

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 27, 2019

And then Kansas kicked the game-winning field goal

He was definitely trying to throw it away

Early contender for funniest clip of the NBA season

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Damn. It’s true. 

Jameis is running a well-oiled machine in Tampa

The Warriors kinda stink

Or, as Draymond says:

He’s so tall he laid it in from above the rim

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Gerald McCoy couldn’t attend his son’s Senior Day so his former Bucs teammates went instead

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CM Punk breaks down wrestling scenes in movies

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You can lead a cat to a treadmill but you can’t make it run

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Let him do his thing

God bless Japanese TV

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to seeprevious editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.