SI

MLB Umpire Made Worst Call of the Season on a Play That Wasn’t Even Close

Andy Nesbitt

MLB umpire Bruce Dreckman made one of the worst calls of the year Monday night in the Orioles-Rays game.
MLB umpire Bruce Dreckman made one of the worst calls of the year Monday night in the Orioles-Rays game. / @MLB
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Being an umpire at the big league level is not the easiest of jobs in the world, we get that. But still, what happened on one horrific call in Monday night's Tampa Bay Rays-Baltimore Orioles game is something that just shouldn't happen at the professional level. Heck, this shouldn't occur at any level.

In case you missed it, Rays right fielder Josh Lowe laid down a nice bunt that was fielded by Orioles third baseman Ramon Urias. His throw to first was a bit late but that didn't stop umpire Bruce Dreckman from calling Lowe out, when he clearly beat the throw.

How do we know he got there before the ball did? Because of this screenshot:

Not great!

Here's the full play, which the Rays couldn't challenge because they were out of challenges:

The Rays would go on to win the game, 7-1, but still, that bad of a call just can't happen.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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