E193-4 - Alec Bohm & Rob Thomson Ejected as Umpire Alex MacKay Calls Close Strikes in Philly

HP Umpire Alex MacKay ejected Phillies 3B Alec Bohm for throwing equipment after a bases loaded strike three call and manager Rob Thomson for arguing Bryce Harper strikeout an inning later. Also, PitchCom broke and the strike zone graphics were wrong. Report: www.closecalls...
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[@BrianKramp-g1b]

Damn took me 2 hours to get home from the game and Lindsey already has the clip up, nice job!!!

[@Media-cp5pm]

That what framin* is

[@sdegerst]

The Twins pitcher stated that since he knew the plate umpire was from AAA, he figured he’d get the bottom of the zone. If you discover the Twins postgame radio call you’ll hear that conversation. Once again, a great analysis

[@teebob21]

MacKay had a 97% accuracy rating if we assume zero measurement error and only called one pitch low out of the zone a strike...and it wasn't the one to Harper.

[@tbowers0045]

As a Phillies Fan, what the f*ck man >:(

[@brend2718]

Me @ 2:44 "Significant figures." Me @ 2:46 "F*CK!"

[@robertbrown7470]

swing the bat........................

[@teebob21]

@@SavoyPrimeable We didn't need you to attach a self portrait.

[@alvinthecat8426]

If they can't get the strike zone box right, how r they going to get an ABS system right? All are assuming the Px, Hx, Vx and what not, are correct. How do u verify the ABS is right? From what I read the ABS is several cameras shooting frames from different angles in the stadium. The computer assimilates the images and makes a determination. What if one of those cameras is awry? What if midges are in the way? What if pigeons are in the way? Get rid of all this tech BS. Let baseball be baseball.

[@mrmoose6619]

Transformative and Educational.

[@toddw6716]

That umpire crew was the worst all year. Bring on the robo strike

[@teebob21]

RoboUmp called that a strike on your boy Harper.

[@RangerBeef]

I'm curious where the data for your strike zone analytics comes from. Not questioning it, genuinely curious cuz it's very cool

[@teebob21]

MLB releases Statcast/Hawkeye data to the public and it is accessible via API and other methods.

[@FreedomFighter2112]

Alex MacKay Percentile Ranks Among MLB Umpires Consistency = 33

[@teebob21]

@@FreedomFighter2112 The game in question: 97.9% accuracy; 97.2% consistency.

[@patrickloper671]

Went to a minor league game and they had pitch challenge. Several close calls were overturned. Now if big league umps could put their egos aside then pitch challenge would be awesome. No it didn't slow the game and no every pitch wasn't challenged.

[@skinflutey]

It has nothing to do with egos. Milb always tests the changes first before mlb makes the permanent change. They did this with pitch clocks and the new base sizes too.

[@sportsloverbaseball]

@@skinfluteyyeah it usually takes a year or two minimum before they bring it to the big leagues, but even that is rare

[@DonnieTNJ]

where he's framing the pitch is not even in the strike zone :P

[@holmj12]

It's the "reverse frame physiology" method

[@zooms7889]

It turns out he only missed 3 calls the entire game, and still gave the twins over 1.5 runs of advantage lol

[@drewsummers7288]

Are you going to cover the ejections in the Pirates game soon?

[@JosephRVilla]

Well, well. Why I wasn’t surprised this video was coming? Timestamps: ⏺️ 0:33: I knew it. It was ball 4; not strike 3. And, I can’t blame Alex Bohm here. He’s livid!! 🤬🤬🤬🤬 ⏺️ 0:55: Alex gets fined for an equipment violation. I say, “whatever”, to that crap. ⏺️ 1:09: And, no surprise here, Alex Bohm gets ejected after slamming his helmet down. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ ⏺️ 2:32: This is why I hate these type of MLB team’s TV Graphics. It was strike 3; not ball 3. Get it fixed. ⏺️ 3:26: Phillies Manager Robbie Thomson gets ejected. It was bound to happen. My Thoughts: ⏺️ It was a very frustrating day for the Philadelphia Phillies as they lost to the Minnesota Twins 3-0. ⏺️ But, a ball & strike challenge is definitely needed now, not later. ⏺️ The only problem is how can you make an accurate & fair challenge system like that when the umpires can’t get it right themselves as well as will the league allow one? Let me know your thoughts. ⏺️ Also, get rid of the TV strike zone box. It’s so confusing to determine which is a ball & which is a strike.

[@starpotatoes768]

The challenge system is useless. In my opinion either go full robo ump or no robo at all for balls and strikes. Imagine how lame it would be for the entire stadium to think their pitcher just secured a clutch strikeout only the hitter to tap his head and all of a sudden it's ball 4 and not strike 3

[@jimmythetout109]

Recall the Phillys game last week ......Castellano was called out at first on an nfield grounder , on appeal , the frame showing Castellanos foot on the bag ,,,,,showed the ball at least 3 feet from the 1 st basemans glove .Call overruled .....Before the next pitch , Castellano was again called out on a pick0ff , again , on appeal , Castellano was ruled safe ......This is how bad the " blues " are this year ........SAD !!!!

[@rayorsini2116]

Sounds like a Phillies hater

[@FreedomFighter2112]

Alex MacKay Percentile Ranks Among MLB Umpires Consistency = 33

[@joe2lank]

Would the challenge system like what is used in AAA get this correct in real time?

[@teebob21]

Not in "real time", but on the spot, yes. The Bohm strike was no less than 0.6 and no greater than 2.6 inches of the plate, well within the tracking system's ability to evaluate for a challenge. The Harper pitch would have been confirmed on challenge.

[@bigpoppa1234]

The TV box should be expanded so that it shows any pitch with the ball entirely inside the zone is a strike, and any pitch which catches a part of the outside is a ball.

[@babababad]

They could put a thicker border on it to show the buffer zone.

[@1stFactChecker]

"Umpire Alex MacKay Calls Close Strikes" the title is false and therefor misinformation. the calls 1 weren't close, and 2 weren't strikes.

[@zooms7889]

the second call was a strike, but yeah the first one wasn't close

[@UGAmedic8714]

Also, Bohm has still yet to touch the plate in Atlanta.

[@richardbobby4992]

“Alex MacKay” We shouldn’t even know this guy’s name.

[@peterresta9012]

"That said..." Can't you folks find a different announcer !?!?! PLEASE!

[@_D_E_N_N_I_S_]

Ughh bases loaded. Down by 2. A correct call would have resulted in a 1 run game and Harper up with bases loaded.

[@teebob21]

It also never would have come to that, if the batter had been able to do his job and hit either of those meatballs on strike 1 and 2 into play, instead of yanking them foul. We need better batters. They're ruining the game and they fail to execute over 70% of the time. Bring in RoboPlayer, Manfred.

[@closethockeyfan5284]

​@@teebob21If I could give this a thousand likes, great one

[@_D_E_N_N_I_S_]

@@teebob21 we call ours Bryson stott

[@john_mccarthy_hi]

every call is an important call

[@danielhetue6968]

Alec Bohm deserved to get ejected

[@Elijah-th9zj]

Another great video Lindsey keep up the great work

[@1stFactChecker]

what's so great about it? she claimed a ball that was clearly both low and wide a strike.

[@sherman4114]

@@1stFactChecker well, did you see those numbers that were displayed? Those are the numbers a computer would use to call balls and strikes. In other words, she was not claiming the pitch to Harper was a strike, the computer was. So, saying it was "clearly both low and wide" would disagree with robo ump.

[@ronpeacock9939]

Man, whatever happened to catchers framing pitches? Almost every single one pulls the damn ball 1-2 ft and they wonder why they don’t get the call. (“Your movements told me you didn’t think it was a strike, why should I?”). Sad where the game is going. 1 missed pitch and the players are revolting. Hell, when I was playing, nobody would have questioned 10 misses.. now, 1 and lets get rioting. Bad for MLB

[@teebob21]

No one knows how to receive pitches anymore. From the Bigs all the way down to 10U, catchers just yank it to the center anymore. It's sad.

[@donh6416]

​@teebob21 That's due to being taught this

[@ronpeacock9939]

@@teebob21 Too many catchers learned to frame from Daddy… who knew the term but didn’t really know how to do the act. I’ve had a kid try to frame a pitch that he had to leave his feet in the opposite batters box to catch…

[@captainpjarker]

Terrible first call, good second call…. Great first ejection, AMAZING second NON-ejection, and a deserved third ejection.

[@rayray4192]

What you call terrible was about 2 inches. Do you realize the ball is moving really fast?

[@bunpeishiratori5849]

No one is really arguing that Bohm shouldn't have been ejected. He obviously crossed the line with his reaction. The bigger concern is that the umpire had such a blatant bad call at a critical moment in the game. Instead of it being a one score game with Harper coming up with the bases loaded, the Twins are out of the inning with a two run lead. It was really huge and the umpire brutally flubbed it. I'm convinced that in big moments like that, umpires are subconsciously motivated to call strike three just so they can enjoy the theater of making an enthusiastic strike call to end an inning.

[@hbk314]

It was a good ejection as far as the violation and subsequent helmet spike, but there's no way to blame Bohm for being fired up about it. This was a bad, bad miss that may very well have decided the game.

[@critter2]

Oh get over it

[@dougr188]

God forbid the umpire missed a call. 🙄 If you believe umpires look for the 'theater' as you put it might I suggest you move on to a different sport. Choose one that requires less thought. It'll probably make your life a bit easier.

[@fisherwallace3062]

@@dougr188 umpires in baseball have been getting worse and worse for years. And even more so they are constantly proving that they think they should get all the attention

[@TurnedToast]

​@@fisherwallace3062source on umpires getting worse? We have data so you should be able to link stats

[@joenad5512]

Mc Kay was a minor league call up ump. Why is he behind the plate when you have three more experienced umps out there? Not that they would be guaranteed to get it right either.

[@geoycs]

Do refs do this on purpose, or did he really think this was a strike?

[@가루빌]

It's a strike

[@Bucky1191]

Baseball is becoming a shit show, the technology has ruined the game

[@teebob21]

This is what you get when you demand perfection from an imperfect game.

[@Unusual116]

I've said it once and I'll keep saying it give us ABS or a challenge system. Umps ruining games like this when we have technology to prevent it in real time is the biggest joke in all of professional sports.

[@CloseCallSports]

The second half of the video is the main point here...the technology is simply not good enough for ABS in real-time. However, I think the challenge system could work...in fact, we have been advocating for MLB to institute a challenge system since 2019!

[@Unusual116]

@@CloseCallSports First off, great videos and analysis, I love your content and I know the bigger point was the second half of the vid. ABS might not be ready (but I argue it's implementation would advance its capabilities faster) however as you have advocated for (thank you) a challenge system would work and save us from awful calls that change the complexion of games. I'm not even a PHI fan just hate bad calls that could be prevented.

[@JosephRVilla]

@@CloseCallSports It has been well needed. Unfortunately, the league doesn’t want it still probably because of the infamous financial reasons.

[@roymauler]

MLB doesn't care. In 20 years or so when maybe 25% of the current viewers are left it will be too late.

[@closethockeyfan5284]

Hyperbolic at best. Nobody cared a decade ago when the tracking box wasn't up for every pitch. Now the umpires miss fewer calls but the histrionics over any miss are far worse. For 150-some years missed balls and strikes were simply part of the game. Now people want to remove as much of the human element as possible, sad.

[@rj7411]

Ooof! Hate seeing that. Good ejection though.

[@roymauler]

That was not a strike to Harper.

[@josephgravina9834]

Roboump disagrees with you

[@tw1nn319]

you saw the side view of the pitch at the hollow of the knee and still say its not a strike? do you want roboump or to change the rulebook? either one, put it up with manfred, not the umpire

[@roymauler]

@@josephgravina9834 Nobody's perfect. 😆

[@roymauler]

@@tw1nn319 What does Manfred Mann have to do with this? Is it racked up like a douche?

[@teebob21]

@@roymauler RoboUmp IS perfect. I've never seen it miss a pitch, even when I had to go back and review the Statcast data.

[@paulready8897]

The umpires have been making bad calls all season, even more than usual. They need be held accountable for their bad calls.

[@andrewclark6618]

And so do women

[@tw1nn319]

provide statistics that its more than usual?

[@closethockeyfan5284]

Except they test better than ever, which the data show. It's about as good an example of scrutiny bias as I have ever seen.

[@ben2972]

This was the most rational, mature, and professional umping (in terms of ejections in relation to player behavior) I've literally ever seen. Not kidding. Alex MacKay is *exactly* the kind of person I want umpiring in MLB.

[@markfischer197]

Agree entirely. MacKay did GREAT job responding to each situation. That pitch to Bohm was WAY too close to take with the game on the line and he should be blaming only himself for being too cowardly to swing at a close pitch crossing right in front of the strike zone, if not actually clipping it.

[@LeeWertheimer]

Why is she so pro umpire? MacKay was terrible...look at the ump stats websites. I'm a Twins fan by the way. Choosing to make your worst call with bases loaded and Harper on deck...give me a break. The Harper pitch should have been classified as a "Ball..but within the margin of error". If the Ump had called that one a ball, she would have been saying..."good call, its out of the box"

[@Math.Bandit]

You must not have watched the video. The Harper call was objectively in the strike zone.

[@tw1nn319]

literally not true and its clear you don't watch this channel very often. 1. she said the first call was wrong and a missed call, what more do you want. 2. the Harper pitch wasn't classified as "Ball..but within the margin of error" because it wasn't a "Ball..but within the margin of error"... it was a strike, as the computer said. 3. no matter what MacKay called, that's what would've been on screen, "Strike" and Lindsay would be calling it a missed call had he called it a ball. Lindsay is a proponent of getting rid of the broadcast box and would not ever say "good call, its out of the box" TLDR: stop being a dumbass in this comment section

[@J.C...]

Tell me you don't understand that, the TV graphic isn't useful for vertical positioning without telling me you don't understand that the TV graphic isn't useful for vertical positioning 🤣👌

[@Elijah-th9zj]

I think Thomson was still angry about the strike three call to Bohm and thus why he got tossed that pitch to Bohm by that Harper pitch was perfect right on the black I’m a Phillies fan and I do not like to blame umpires for our losses the Phillies had plenty of opportunities to scratch a run across but they failed to execute so this loss isn’t on the umps it’s on the Phillies for not being able to hit with RISP I love to be unbiased and not say yeah that was a strike as most Phillies fans do that was a great pitch Phillies lost this game because of their Incapability of hitting with RISP

[@hbk314]

The badly blown call against Bohm did as much to determine the outcome as anything else. Don't be ridiculous.

[@closethockeyfan5284]

​@@hbk314The Phillies saw 128 pitches in the game; to blame one such pitch for the entire outcome is ludicrous. Maybe score more than once and they'd have a chance to win. They couldn't even muster that, even Bohm with multiple cookies thrown his way in the at-bat in question. Always blame-shifting, never accepting responsibility for failing.

[@hbk314]

@@closethockeyfan5284 Please learn to read.

[@jimmythetout109]

McKay didn't call close strikes ......he called pitches that were clearly outside the strike zone .......the ball to Bohm was 6-8 inches outside the box ... Harpers pitch was also clearly beyond the point where Harper could have even fouled it off ........Somewhere Joe West is laughing that there are umps in the MLB even worse than he was ...!!!!!

[@teebob21]

Apparently you don't know what 6-8 inches looks like. The computer data indicates that the pitch was at most 2.6 inches from the edge of the plate. You can't look down in your shorts and use that to guesstimate 6 to 8 inches.

[@closethockeyfan5284]

What a delusional take

[@a_doggo]

Can't have 2 EQ throws in anger and histrionics directed at an umpire; that'll always be an ejection in the MLB.

[@blueskies25]

It's amazing how fast you gloss over the terrible strike 3 call to Bohm to put all the information up about equipment interaction. If the ump doesn't suck at his job, maybe the player doesn't get mad

[@pavanatanaya]

This HP umpire was all over the place Fine the umpires for affecting the result of a game through ineptitude.

[@teebob21]

All over the place? I'll wait until the scorecard comes out, but MacKay hasn't had a game worse than 91% all year. How many games a year do you work?

[@teebob21]

Again, I ask you: all over the place? Assuming zero measurement error, MacKay had a 97.9% accuracy rating for this game and called 141 of 144 pitches correctly. 3 pitches out of the zone were called for strikes. That is a top-tier performance and grades out in the 97th percentile of all games this year for accuracy, and 96th percentile for consistency.

[@teebob21]

@@SavoyPrimeable LMAO if only that was true, I could quit my day job. How paranoid do you have to be to see "paid shills" lurking in every corner of the Internet?

[@gradel888]

Mackay clearly wanted the twins to win those two calls were so horrible

[@mrx7181]

cry

[@nickpoole583]

Clearly to B/S call totally crippled the Phils from the W! Haha Also the view from the side and the line drawn looks under the knee. I’m not sure any computer system is perfect. This is of course in a game that is completely dependent on perfection and no human interaction.

[@josephgravina9834]

@@nickpoole583the strike zone is under the knee

[@tw1nn319]

well, the one on harper was a strike, so... you're wrong

[@boblarson9994]

Complains umpire got two calls wrong. Has no idea only one was wrong. LOL Umpire has a better call ration than your comments.

[@cuddyfox6973]

Bohm had an argument on the pitch, but also, balls and strikes are judgement calls. Harper on the other hand, does not have a branch to stand on.

[@hbk314]

"An argument"? It was an egregious miss in a huge spot. Bad enough that Mackay needs some time back in AAA, not more games at the MLB rate in the immediate future.

[@closethockeyfan5284]

​@@hbk314😭😭😭😭😭

[@hbk314]

@@closethockeyfan5284 🤡

[@robertbrown7470]

Reduce the game to 7 or 8 innings. Get rid of the pitch clocks and all that. Get rid of AI. Go back to baseball.

[@stevencolonel]

I am against equipment fines when it ends an inning. The umpire shouldn't do equipment fines or ejections when an inning ends. If he said something provocative then he should be ejected.

[@teebob21]

Ok, let's pretend your comment has merit. When else should inappropriate misconduct be tolerated, if we permit it at the end of an inning?

[@closethockeyfan5284]

I am against player arguments when the inning is still in progress. The batter or defender shouldn't argue when the game is ongoing, should be an automatic ball or strike against the infringing party.

[@TheHockey12]

And, again, we have lousy MLB umpires ruining the game and subjecting players & managers to their inflated egos!

[@closethockeyfan5284]

What the heck are you talking about? Umpires are statistically better than ever, and this was one of the most lenient ejections I've seen. For 150-some years humanity was accepted as part of the game. Now throw a flawed box on screen and everyone loses their minds.

[@J_____C]

Yes! 1st! WOOO!

[@herbertmaccombie2642]

Your absolutely incorrect and the ball is below the knee, please bring educate yourself on the strike zone and how it’s from the letters to the knees

[@sherman4114]

You.... might want to look up the definition of the strike zone, because while that is close to the definition, that is not exactly right. The STRIKE ZONE is that area over home plate the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap. The Strike Zone shall be determined from the batter’s stance as the batter is prepared to swing at a pitched ball.

[@tw1nn319]

yeah sorry but, the strike zone is actually below the knee, try again next video

[@teebob21]

The bottom of the zone hasn't been the knees since 1996. The bottom limit of the zone is the hollow beneath the knee....or the top of the shin bone. "Please bring educate yourself."

[@zacmontgomery8684]

You can take solace in the fact that you're not the first, and won't be the last, to come on the comment section of one of these videos after a low (correct) strike at the hollow of the knee and show how ignorant of the rules you are.

[@closethockeyfan5284]

Oh man, this one is top-tier troll dunce

[@anthonybercaw857]

I don’t care what your umpire loving physics calculations say that was NOT a strike to Harper. Low and out even in HS that’s not a strike. Fix your equations and use some common sense and your eyes.

[@CloseCallSports]

Hahahaha you're funny.

[@JosephRVilla]

@@CloseCallSports I agree. Let the haters hate.

[@tw1nn319]

ok, I used my eyes. pitch is over the plate:✅ pitch is at the hollow of the knee:✅ strike:✅

[@zacmontgomery8684]

If that's not a strike in high school, you're going to be at the yard for a long while each night.

[@critter2]

I want these annoucere ejected

[@straycatttt2766]

Their names are Tom McCarthy and John Kruk.

[@JadZelPHl]

I want you ejected