Blue Jays manager John Schneider calls out home plate umpire after inept delayed call on Varsho
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Before all the madness of 18 innings, a very delayed call lead to all sorts of confusion.
It was the third inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays had Bo Bichette on first base and Daulton Varsho at the plate with a 3-1 count.
The pitch comes in from Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow and is up near Varsho's chest.
Ball four.
Except it wasn't. Varsho had already taken a couple of steps to first base when home plate umpire Mark Wegner signalled strike two.
It was delayed, and not that assertive, and no one seem to know what was going on.
As Varsho turned to face Wegner, incredulous that a strike was called, Glasnow threw to first to pick off a confused Bichette, ending the Blue Jays threat.
Everyone, from fans to players to broadcasters were left wondering what just happened.
Both Daulton Varsho and Bo Bichette thought it was ball four and Bichette gets thrown out at first base.
Terrible break for the Blue Jays after a terrible call by the ump. 😑
Terrible break for the Blue Jays after a terrible call by the ump. 😑
While it potentially cost the Blue Jays a run, manager John Schneider was quick to run out and voice his displeasure, both with the call itself and how it was delivered.
«[It was a] very delayed call, pretty deliberate. Just didn't say anything, so Varsh assumed it was a ball, and Bo assumed. I just asked him, in this environment, can he be a little bit quicker or give a little more clarity so everyone kind of knows what's going on.
Strike zone was consistently inconsistent for both teams all game long
While Wegner was calling high strikes all night long, much to the chagrin of both benches, the barely audible strike call was his most egregious error of the night.
18 innings ago now, but here is umpire Mark Wegner's explanation on the first inning Varsho/Bichette play:
"I called the pitch a strike like I always do, with the voice, the mechanic. And I guess he didn't hear me, and so that's why maybe he started to go to first."
"I called the pitch a strike like I always do, with the voice, the mechanic. And I guess he didn't hear me, and so that's why maybe he started to go to first."
While Varsho ended up walking, it was too little to late. The Blue Jays now had one on and one out, instead of two on and nobody out.
The game went on for nearly six hours after that, but it was a big what-if for the Blue Jays.
Game four is tonight.
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