Every team's fans think their club is subject to some of the worst calls made by umpires. But as it turns out, Diamondbacks fans might actually have a point.
Last week, some questionable strike calls by umpire Tom Hallion hurt the D-backs in a loss to the Dodgers. But those calls didn't compare to one particular decision made April 8 at Chase Field, according to FanGraphs.com, a baseball statistics and analysis site.
On Tuesday, FanGraphs said a strike called against D-backs catcher Jeff Mathis was the worst called strike of the first half of the 2017 MLB season. On a 3-1 pitch, Mathis appeared to take ball four from Indians pitcher and former D-backs first-round draft pick Trevor Bauer. Instead, the pitch -- which was over nine inches outside the strike zone -- was called strike two by umpire Angel Hernandez.
Click here to watch the video, along with side-by-side comparisons of Hernandez's other calls during the at-bat. Fortunately, the D-backs went on to win the game anyway by an 11-2 score.
Via FanGraphs.com
FanGraphs writer Jeff Sullivan researched every pitch thrown thus far in the 2017 season and deemed that call by Hernandez the worst, although he noted many other called strikes were nearly as awful.
To make matters worse: Hernandez called strike three against Mathis on the next pitch, which was also outside the strike zone. In fact, at least five of six pitches during the at-bat were outside the zone, yet three were called strikes.
"What do you do? Hitters know they can't argue without getting ejected. The just have to take it," Sullivan wrote. "Within moments, (Mathis) had to go back to catching. Catching, just a couple feet in front of the guy who'd wronged him. Sometimes baseball puts the wrong people in their place."
