Blue Jays hitting coach ejected before game starts for ripping umpire

Emotions were still running high for the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday after a frustrating extra-innings loss that featured some abysmal umpiring from Doug Eddings.

Blue Jays hitting coach Guillermo Martínez was ejected before the game even started after having a few words with Eddings when delivering the lineup card.

Eddings, who was at third base on Wednesday, missed a season-high 29 calls across 12 innings on Tuesday, resulting in an 86.2 percent correct call rate, according to Umpire Auditor. He also blew six strikeouts.

Right-handed hitters endured the majority of these blown calls, as the strike zone was largely extended by a few additional inches off the plate away from them. This led to plenty of agonizing plate appearances for both teams and earned Blue Jays pitching coach an ejection from Eddings in the 10th inning.

Eddings finished with a miserable 64 percent called-strike accuracy rate, which is 24 percent below league average, according to Umpire Scorecards. His overall accuracy came in at five percent below league average at 89 percent.

Thanks to Edding’s embarrassing performance, the White Sox ended up being favoured by 2.03 runs, ultimately helping them outlast the Blue Jays in extra innings. A walk-off single from infielder Josh Harrison scored the game-winning run in the 12th inning, earning Chicago a 7-6 victory.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Toronto hitters have experienced issues involving the strike zone this season. They encountered a similar situation with home plate umpire Jeff Nelson during their 7-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics back in April.

During that contest, Nelson missed 27 total calls, resulting in an 86 percent overall accuracy rate. He also eventually ejected Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo for arguing balls and strikes.

After witnessing these types of instances, it’s understandable why many have quickly grown frustrated with home plate umpires. And this isn’t limited to just the Blue Jays, it’s quickly become a league-wide problem.

Suffice to say, the automated strike zone — or “robot umpires” as they’re often referred to — can’t arrive soon enough for most.

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