Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez chastise umpires for not knowing the rules: ‘Truly embarrassing’

It’s one thing for an umpire to miss a call, but Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez have zero tolerance for them not knowing the rules.

With the New York Mets jumping out to a five run lead in the 12th inning Monday night, Washington Nationals manager Blake Butera attempted to wave the white flag by bringing in a position player to pitch.

The problem, however, is that the umpires weren’t sure whether Butera was allowed to bring a position player in to pitch while trailing by just five runs. Instead of just knowing the rule, the umpires took a more than five-minute break to call the replay center for clarification, which Cohen and Hernandez weren’t thrilled about.

“The umpires did not know the rule. That’s basically what this came down to. That is truly embarrassing.” – Gary Cohen pic.twitter.com/wHbbMCmIgl

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 19, 2026

“I think the umpires are going to be embarrassed,” Hernandez noted as they waited for the umpire to announce the official ruling to the miniscule crowd in Washington.

There used to be no restrictions around allowing position players to pitch, but several years ago, MLB implemented a new rule barring position players from pitching unless their team was trailing by eight or more runs at any point during the game, or leading by 10 runs in the ninth inning. The one caveat, however, is that there are no restrictions around using a position player to pitch in extra innings because teams could conceivably run out of relievers.

Cohen noted that he was quickly able to check the rulebook to confirm Butera should be allowed to bring a position player in to pitch the 12th inning for the Nationals. The umpires, however, were taking longer.

“I’m not sure why the umpires are taking so long,” Cohen added. “Either the rule is what we think it is, or it’s not.”

And after more than five minutes of attempting to confirm the rule, the umpire meekly flipped his microphone on to announce, “Washington can bring a non-pitcher in in extra innings.”

“So the umpires did not know the rule. That’s basically what this came down to,” Cohen said with frustration. “That is truly embarrassing.”

Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez were right, it was a bad look for the umpires. They should have known the relatively simple rules around position players pitching. And if they didn’t know the rules, it shouldn’t have taken them as long as it did for clarification.

As if the long break was frustrating enough, the Mets went on to score an additional five runs with infielder Jorbit Vivas on the mound for Washington, prolonging the night even longer.