MLB Must Make Unprecedented Decision After Umpire’s Continued Struggles

Major League Baseball has a similar problem on its hands. Bacon turned heads in last Sunday’s Toronto Blue Jays-Baltimore Orioles game, missing 17 calls, including 14 against the Orioles. 

The Umpire Auditor account found that Bacon missed eight calls, all against the Orioles, in the first three innings of Baltimore’s 10-inning loss.

Bacon returned to the spotlight Thursday night, missing two calls against New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the seventh inning. The seventh-year ump ejected Chisholm for arguing following a called strikeout, and Chisholm subsequently ripped Bacon on social media.

“Not even [expletive] close!!!!!” Chisholm wrote, later deleting the post.

Major League Baseball, at least in modern history, has never suspended an umpire for performance. The closest incident came in 2013 when Fieldin Culbreth earned a two-game suspension for a blown call in a Houston Astros-Los Angeles Angels game; according to CBS Sports, Culbreth’s crew violated Rule 3.05 for allowing Houston to remove pitcher Wesley Wright before the reliever threw a pitch.

Suspending an umpire for missing a rule is one thing. Punishing an umpire solely off performance, especially when the league is yet to implement the Automated Ball-Strike System, is another thing entirely—and it’s a decision the Umpires Association would almost certainly fight.

If the league can’t outright suspend Bacon, it must consider preventing him from working behind the plate. A missed call at second base can be overturned via replay. Blown ball and strike calls can’t, and it’s directly impacting games.

Major League Baseball is a business, and running a business means difficult decisions. The league cannot let Bacon continue working games without discipline, even if it’s only limiting him to working the bases.

If it’s any consolation for baseball fans, at least we feel safe assuming Bacon won’t work any playoff games this fall.