There have been a lot of bad calls in baseball this year, from terrible strikeouts to umpires forgetting to reset the pitch clock and misremembering the count. And now, add this 3-1 strike call from umpire Bill Miller to the running tally of dreadful missteps this season.
On Sunday, Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes was facing Atlanta Braves pitcher A.J. Minter in the top of the eighth inning, with the home team holding a 5-2 lead. On the 3-1 count, it seemed as if Hayes was set to go to first on a walk thanks to a ball outside the zone. However, Miller called it a strike, keeping Hayes in the batter’s box on a pitch that was definitely not a strike.
See for yourself!
What pic.twitter.com/Dy7uEQ3Y3m
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 10, 2023
Not only that, the missed 3-1 strike call led to Hayes striking out mere moments later, ending the inning for the Pirates and cutting off any chance of an eighth inning comeback.
After the game, Hayes took to Twitter to express his frustrations with Miller’s call, even stating that the umpire brushed off his attempts to hold him accountable.
Some umpires really don’t care. 3-1 call not even close. I hold him accountable after the game walking off the field and his response is “🤷🏽♂️ I gave you a chance to hit a homerun” that tells me you don’t care at all. No accountability. Bring the ABS please @MLB pic.twitter.com/sgncakv8v8
— KeBryan Hayes (@KeBryanHayes) September 10, 2023
We wouldn’t be surprised to see a fine tossed Hayes’ way for his candid comments about Miller’s call and umpires as a whole. MLB fans, on the other hand, appreciated how honest Hayes was in his assessment of Miller’s call.
