The Padres went out with a whimper offensively, but they sure didn’t hold back on the umpires after their season ended.
Video emerged showing one Padres player screaming at the umpires and another joining in after the controversial called strikeout against Xander Bogaerts that played a role in San Diego’s season-ending 3-1 loss to the Cubs on Thursday in Game 3 of the NL wild-card series at Wrigley Field.
While the umpires headed to their room with “Go, Cubs, Go” blaring in the background, one Padres player in a hoody walked toward the umpires and appeared to get in their faces.
Padres manager Mike Shildt held that player back before things turned truly ugly, while a second player, standing behind them, leaned over the rail to give them his thoughts.
The player donning a hoody continued to voice his displeasure throughout the brief clip.
Thursday’s win-or-go-home game may as well have been a PSA for those who are in favor of the Automated Ball Strike Challenge System (ABS) that is coming to baseball next year.
The Padres trailed, 3-0, entering the ninth inning when Jackson Merrill led off with a homer.
Bogaerts battled to a full count before Brad Keller fired a 98-mph fastball that appeared to miss the zone low — only home plate D.J. Reyburn called it a strike.
The shortstop took a step before squatting in disbelief while Reyburn punched him out.
Bogearts extended his hands in a “Come on” fashion before listening while the umpire said something to him. Shildt then ran out and said something to Reyburn before retreating.
It’s worth nothing that while MLB.com’s box had the pitch as a ball, the Baseball Savant box had the pitch clipping the zone.
The television broadcast made it seem that Cubs catcher Carson Kelly did a nice frame job to steal the call.
“Talk about it now: what do you want me to do?” Bogaerts said, per the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s a ball. Messed up the whole game, you know? I mean, can’t go back in time and talking about it now won’t change anything. So it was bad, and thank God for ABS next year, because this is terrible.”
That call especially loomed large when Keller hit the next two batters, but Andrew Kittredge retired the next two batters to secure the Cubs’ NLDS date with the Brewers.
The Padres certainly voiced their displeasure, but they can only think about what could have been had that call gone in their favor.
“Looked down to me. You know, but I don’t see great, and I am kind of far away. But most importantly, Bogey felt like he was down,” Shildt said. “He is not a guy — you know, not any of our guys really, but Bogey in particular is not a guy that’s overly dramatic about close pitches. It’s a big pitch. It’s a big swing pitch. You know, it turns the tying run and what would have unfolded after that could have been very impactful, but we had other opportunities, too.”
