Somewhere, robot umpires are laughing maniacally while watching this MLB season.
It hasn’t been a strong first two months for human umpires, and another blown call on Saturday seriously impacted the Brewers-Phillies matchup. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick was leading off second base while Philadelphia was trailing 4-3 with one out. Brewers reliever Francisco Rodriguez swung around and threw to Jean Segura to pick off Kendrick. Segura dove at Kendrick and got his glove on the pitcher’s chest, but there was something missing — the ball.
Kendrick was called out anyway by second base umpire Mike Estabrook, and Segura helped his case by picking the ball off the dirt and showing it to the ump. There was no argument from Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel.
Cesar Hernandez doubled directly after, which would have driven Kendrick home from second base. Michael Martinez grounded out to Segura to end the game.
Check out the latest gaffe made by MLB umps in the video below.
