SI

Phillies Announcer John Kruk Rightfully Crushed Umps and MLB Over ‘Joke’ of a Pitch Clock Violation Call

John Kruk did not hold back.

Andy Nesbitt

Phillies Announcer John Kruk Rightfully Crushed Umps and MLB Over ‘Joke’ of a Pitch Clock Violation Call
Phillies Announcer John Kruk Rightfully Crushed Umps and MLB Over ‘Joke’ of a Pitch Clock Violation Call /
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The new rules in Major League Baseball this season have done a lot of good things for the game, including making them much faster and easier to watch. 

But they have also led to some mind-boggling calls by umps that have infuriated players and fans. 

The latest example of that came in Wednesday’s Diamondbacks-Phillies game in Philadelphia when things went off the rails in the 10th inning after the home plate ump called Phillies pitcher Craig Kimbrel for a pitch clock violation. That call came after an argument at home plate and it didn’t seem like Kimbrel did anything wrong once play resumed.

The great John Kruk was on the call and he absolutely tore into the umps and MLB.

This was all madness: 

The Phillies went on to win the game, 6–5, and Kruk had more to say about the new rules during a postgame interview: 

Many MLB fans were on Kruk’s side: 

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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