Sunday’s matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Minnesota Twins featured a very questionable strike-three call at a key moment of the game, and Phillies broadcaster John Kruk did not mince words about how he felt about it.
Kruk, who played for the organization from 1989-1994, stuck up for Phillies second baseman Alec Bohm after home-plate umpire Alex Mackay called him out on strikes.
What made it even worse was that it was a crucial at-bat for the Phillies. Bohm was up at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded while trailing 2-0 in the game. The pitch in question would have, and probably should have been ball four that would have walked in a run for the Phillies.
"The pitch (to Alec Bohm), according to our box, was a hair in. Take a look, Statcast 3D."- Tom McCarthy
"A hair?"- John Kruk
"Well, I thought it was my hair. Maybe it's yours." McCarthy
"That (strike call is) terrible."- Kruk pic.twitter.com/Cd2rHjezJ9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 13, 2023
Bohm was rightfully frustrated by the strike call, and he threw his bat down in frustration, which led to Mackay ejecting him from the game.
NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcasters Tom McCarthy and John Kruk were just as shocked as fans at home, and they offered their reactions to the questionable call.
“The pitch, according to our box, was a hair in. Take a look, Statcast 3D,” said McCarthy.
Meanwhile, Kruk didn’t think that the call was close at all, and clearly believed that Bohm should have been walking to first base.
“A hair? That is terrible,” said Kruk.
Most would agree with Kruk’s assessment of the call, as it was certainly inside. Perhaps what makes it even worse is that a pitch in a similar location earlier in the game was called a ball by Mackay.
Ball 1 for Bryson Stott in the same exact spot as Strike 3 (pitch 6) for Alec Bohm pic.twitter.com/v72TDxamZy
— Barstool Philly (@BarstoolPhilly) August 13, 2023
The call undoubtedly had a huge impact on the final result of the game, as the Phillies would go on to lose 3-0 to the Twins.
