SI

Umpire's Late-Game Strike Call Had MLB Fans Crowning It the Worst of 2024 Season

Karl Rasmussen

Rowdy Tellez pitches against Patrick Wisdom in the top of the ninth inning at PNC Park.
Rowdy Tellez pitches against Patrick Wisdom in the top of the ninth inning at PNC Park. / Screenshot via Rob Friedman on X
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Umpires are people, too.

That was never more evident than during Monday night's clash between the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, a game which the Cubs quickly turned on its head, winning 18–8.

Things got so bad at PNC Park that the Pirates opted to trot Rowdy Tellez onto the mound to pitch in the ninth inning. Tellez wasn't looking to light up the radar gun, effectively throwing soft toss to Patrick Wisdom, and often missing the zone badly.

Home plate umpire Scott Barry looked as if he'd seen enough and was just about ready to call it a night during Wisdom's at-bat against Tellez. Barry called a strike on a pitch so far outside of the zone, just about no one knew how to react.

Tellez's eephus—if you can call it that—clocked in at around 42 mph, and was practically in the left-handed batter's box. Wisdom wisely laid off the pitch, but Barry stunned everyone by ruling it a strike. Wisdom had a few words for the umpire, who barely seemed to give him any sort of response.

The bizarre exchange left baseball fans bewildered, and they were quick to declare Barry's egregious mistake as the worst called strike of the 2024 MLB season.

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Karl Rasmussen
KARL RASMUSSEN

Karl Rasmussen is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News team for Sports Illustrated. A University of Oregon alum who joined SI in February 2023, his work has appeared on 12up and ClutchPoints. Rasmussen is a loyal Tottenham, Jets, Yankees and Ducks fan.