Fans may have seen the worst strike call of the MLB season so far on Tuesday afternoon during the Tigers–Twins game.
At the bottom of the fifth, Detroit’s Eric Haase came up to the plate to face Minnesota pitcher Devin Smeltzer. On a 3–2 count, Haase was called out after the umpire called the last pitch a strike.
Smeltzer’s 90 mph pitch, though, went well below the Bally Sports broadcast’s strike zone box as well as Haase’s knees, as can be seen in the video below.
Haase definitely thought the pitch was a ball, as he can be seen throwing his bat behind him and taking off his glove in preparation to walk to first base. But, just like fans watching at the game and on television, he was surprised to hear that the pitch was a called strike, especially since the call came late.
The Bally Sports announcers also thought the pitch should have been called a ball.
“That’s not close, I’m sorry,” announcer Jack Morris said after the network showed a review of the pitch.
The Twins ended up winning 8–2 on Tuesday afternoon. Smeltzer pitched 6.2 innings, finishing with six hits, two runs and four strikeouts, including Haase’s fifth inning strikeout.
