Umpiring has become a thankless job in baseball today. The officials make calls under incredible pressure but regularly face abuse and anger from fans, managers, and players. Most recently, Detroit Tigers infielder Spencer Torkelson unleashed fury at an umpire over a perceived blunder. While doing so, he let fly some choice words at the home plate official.
This occurred during a crucial juncture during the Tigers? recent game against the Kansas City Royals. The call went against Torkelson, leaving him enraged and shouting at the umpire. After such an outrage of mean words, did the result go his team?s way?
Detroit Tigers infielder Spencer Torkelson loses his mind at home plate umpire over a call
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It was the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Tigers trailing 4-3 and Spencer Torkelson batting. The Tigers? infielder was called out on a third strike that seemed to be clipping the zone. Following the call, Torkelson lost his cool and started shouting at the home plate umpire out of anger. He let his disagreement with the call be known while flinging some choice words at the official.
Talkin? Baseball shared a video of the incident on Twitter. At that moment he said, ?Oh my f*cking God! The f*ck are you looking at?!? before returning to his dugout. But the Tigers? infielder was clearly unhappy. Despite his anger at the call, it could have gone either way. The changeup seemingly clipped the bottom outside corner of the strike zone. Notably, there was a turn of events in the game after this scene.?
Spencer Torkelson was not happy 😳 pic.twitter.com/oNyH2pLwSN
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 20, 2023
Torkelson was 0-4 on the night and had a dreadful day at the plate. Furthermore, he was struck out twice, including the crazy incident. Luckily, the Tigers managed to score 3 more runs from that point and secure a 6-4 victory. Last week, he helped the team record their first win of the month. Let?s have a look at how fans have reacted to the incident.?
How have fans reacted to Spencer Torkelson?s outburst??
The reactions are divided and contrasted, with fans supporting each side of the situation. Some fans agreed with the umpire’s call. While other fans sided with Spencer Torkelson and called out the officiating. Moreover, some fans criticized Torkelson and supported the umpire’s call.
It did get corner. It could have gone either way. With 2 strikes u have to protect the plate. He decided not to. Swing the bat!
— Hiram V (@hypermetsfan) June 20, 2023
Ball or strike, you gotta swing at that with 2 strikes its too close to leave it to chance
— Andy Savage ⚡️ (@AndyTheSavage24) June 20, 2023
The ump deserves props since he made the right call and refrained from tossing him. He probably should have been tossed.
— C^2 (@coryc711) June 20, 2023
Other fans were unhappy with the officiating and supported the infielder.
Baseball kills itself with the level of umpiring the past few years https://t.co/uWyvuAqhml
— Chris Kelly (@eskimobrothers7) June 20, 2023
Robots.
Please. https://t.co/n8kAK10Dkx— Matthew Dzida (@spaghetti916) June 20, 2023
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Robo umps asap https://t.co/smrDzxXlq9
— Paul: Corum SZN 〽️ (@PaulShe51278449) June 20, 2023
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What do you think about this call and the Detroit Tigers infielder’s reaction to it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.