On Thursday, MLB fans saw one of the most egregious calls in recent history.
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper appeared to check his swing on a 3-2 count, but he wasn’t really close to crossing the plane and actually swinging the bat.
It was ball four and Harper was prepared to go to first base.
However, the chief umpire asked the third base umpire if Harper had swung, and he said he did.
The third base umpire was Ángel Hernández, who has some history with the Phillies.
Harper was furious and went to third base to confront Hernández.
He had to be stopped by his third base coach and even threw his helmet to the stands in anger.
He was ejected.
After the game, reporters talked to him about the play and Harper offered a revealing, yet hilarious chat he had with Hernández.
Bryce: "(Ángel Hernández) just told me if I saw the replay that I would know that I was wrong."
Interviewer: "I take it you've seen the replay…?"
Bryce: "I didn't need to see the replay." pic.twitter.com/N0LWIkPcQs— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 29, 2023
In case you missed it, here is the replay:
Bryce Harper lost it on Angel Hernandez after this check swing call pic.twitter.com/JLPpoNLWJy
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 28, 2023
That’s a ball for every person on planet Earth, except for Hernández of course.
As Harper stated, we can all reach that conclusion without the need of a replay.
In fact, watching the replay makes matters much, much worse for the veteran umpire.
The Phillies have already locked up one of the Wild Card spots in the National League, in large part thanks to Harper’s brilliant play.
On Thursday, however, he had to see how the most controversial umpire in MLB directly affected his team again.
NEXT: Bryce Harper Is Aiming For A Special Final Line
