Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt made the most embarrassing mistake

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt made the most embarrassing mistake

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Aug 16, 2026 4:44 PM ET

Home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt made one of the more embarrassing mistakes an umpire can make early in Sunday’s game between the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays.

Trent Grisham was batting for the Yankees in the top of the first inning of Sunday’s game and facing a 1-1 count. Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease dropped a curveball on him that Wendelstadt enthusiastically punched Grisham out on, even though it was only strike two.

Umpire rung up Trent Grisham on strike two pic.twitter.com/2bc1poN9cc
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 16, 2026

Grisham looked rather baffled with Wendelstedt for a moment. The umpire realized his mistake almost immediately and sheepishly corrected the count. Grisham wound up striking out swinging anyway.

To make matters worse for Wendelstedt, the pitch was not even a strike. Grisham had already lost one challenge in the plate appearance, however, and did not want to risk losing both.

Wendelstedt has been an umpire since 1998, so this is hardly down to inexperience. He just lost track of the count. The Yankees would prefer this to him ejecting their manager for something the manager never actually said.

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