Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Calls Mount for MLB Umpire's Firing After Controversial Yankees Call

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nathan Dougherty | Last updated Apr 18, 2025 9:38 AM ET

Jazz Chisholm Jr. gave umpire John Bacon an earful after getting rung up on a called third strike in Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, earning an ejection.

After the game, New York Yankees fans joined Chisholm in criticizing the MLB umpire for the controversial call.

Chisholm grew irate after the seventh-inning strikeout, getting tossed for arguing balls and strikes and later taking to social media to voice his displeasure.

“Not even [expletive] close!!!!!” Chisholm wrote in a message on X that was later deleted.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Chisholm said he still disagreed with the call but wished he had kept his cool instead.

“I’m still mad that it was a ball, but I’m definitely mad at myself for losing my cool,” Chisholm said. “At the same time, that’s what I’ve got these guys in here for. They’ve got my back. I can go back out there tomorrow and it’ll be all right.”

Many Yankees fans were angry with the call as well, suggesting that Bacon was trying to have a makeup call for what appeared to be a strike on the previous pitch that he called a ball.

Umpire John Bacon missed what should've been a called strike 3 to Jazz Chisholm.

He made up for it on the next pitch by ringing up Chisholm on a pitch well below the zone and then ejecting him for arguing. pic.twitter.com/PfaBgl6KP2
— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) April 18, 2025

Some suggested that MLB fire the umpire.

"Terrible [expletive] call! These umpires need to be held accountable," a fan wrote on X. "Fine them, fire them if they do bad. This is even worse when umpires are changing outcomes of games in the post season."

"John Bacon needs to lose his job man," another fan wrote on X. "Terrible behind the plate and his ego is the worst part. You aren't bigger than baseball. You aren't who people are there to watch"

Others suggested that the controversial call was evidence that MLB should implement the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) that was tested during Spring Training and has been used at the Triple-A level for years.

"So the ump is dead wrong, with technological evidence showing that he's wrong, and nothing happens to him," another fan posted. "The American way."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: