Kyle Schwarber Has Epic Meltdown Over Horrible Strike Zone in Phillies-Brewers Game
Kyle Schwarber just couldn't take it anymore. And after getting called out on strikes by umpire Angel Hernandez on national television Sunday night, the Philadelphia Phillies completely lost it in an epic meltdown.
Hernandez, who's often criticized as one of the worst umpires in baseball, missed calls all night long, and in the ninth inning, Schwarber reached a breaking point. After the strikeout, he went on an animated rant trying to explain how bad the Hernandez strike zone was.
Schwarber took a 3-2 sinker from Brewers closer Josh Hader that he thought was off the outside corner. But it was called a strike by Hernandez for the second out of the ninth inning in a tight 1-0 game.
After the call, Schwarber threw his bat and slammed his helmet in disgust, and then got into it with Hernandez. He then gestured to Hernandez, who didn’t go back at him, to signal that he missed calls outside, inside and high and low all game before walking back to the dugout. He came back out to tell Hernandez again how bad he was with Phillies manager Joe Girardi also pleading his case over the erratic strike zone. There were 26 strikeouts in the game.
“Everyone kind of saw what was going on,” Schwarber said after the game. “I’m not here to bury anyone, but that wasn’t very good. You wish that, I don’t know how to really say it, it just wasn’t very good.”
Want proof? According to umpire tracking, Hernandez missed 19 calls on the night, the lowest-rated umpired of the day. He missed one call by a season-high 6.47 inches.
Schwarber's rant was witnessed by several hundred thousand people on ESPN during part of its ''Sunday Night Baseball'' national telecast. The announcing crew had his back, too.
“Kyle Schwarber is speaking for both sides tonight,” ESPN play-by-play man Karl Ravech said. “We saw a lot of those demonstrations, none like that. We saw them as players went back to the bench.”
Added analyst David Cone: “I’m surprised it took this long for somebody to have that kind of an outburst.”
Schwarber wasn't alone in complaining about Hernandez during the game. Milwaukee outfielder Andrew McCutchen was called out on a pitch that missed by several inches and just rolled his eyes in disbelief. Phillies second baseman Jean Segura questioned a strike call way inside during the fifth inning, where the ESPN on-screen display even put it up initially as ball one.
“I’m not going to say he was good, because he wasn’t,” Milwaukee catcher Omar Narvaez told reporters. “At least he was consistent for both teams. Sometimes you’ve got to adjust and don’t leave the decision to the umpire.”
It's been a tough start for Schwarber, who signed a four-year, $79 million deal prior to the season. He has four home runs so far, but his batting average is just .169. Schwarber played six years for the Chicago Cubs and was a postseason hero. He's also played with the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox.
He was the fourth overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, selected by the Chicago Cubs out of Indiana University.
Kyle Schwarber meltdown
Kyle Schwarber meltdown
Kyle Schwarber explains
Kyle Schwarber
Kyle Schwarber slides
Kyle Schwarber swing
Kyle Schwarber ejected
Kyle Schwarber ejected
Related baseball stories
- BREWERS EDGE PHILLIES: The Philadelphia Phillies fell to the Milwaukee Brewers in a heartbreaking pitchers' duel, losing 1-0 on national TV on Sunday night. CLICK HERE
- OPINION: It's way too early to panic over Zach Wheeler's slow start for the Phillies, writes Inside The Phillies writer Alex Carr. CLICK HERE
- McCLANAHAN BECOMING AN ACE: Shane McClanahan might only be 24 years old, but he's quickly turning into an ace and a potential All-Star at the top of the Tampa Bay Rays' rotation. He retired 20 of the last 22 batters he faced on Sunday in the Rays' 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. CLICK HERE
