The umps miss a swing call and Jason Vargas gets so mad, a breakdown
What Happened
New York Mets starting pitcher Jason Vargas is on the mound against the Chicago Cubs in a tense late-season matchup. In the bottom of the 9th inning, with the game tied 2-2, Vargas is facing off against Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Vargas hurls a 2-2 pitch to Rizzo, who swings and appears to make contact. The home plate umpire initially calls it a foul ball, but Vargas immediately erupts in protest, yelling "You had safe on that f***ing swing! I can't believe it!" Vargas is adamant that Rizzo fully went around on the swing and should be called out. The umpires convene to discuss the play, with the third base umpire admitting he's unsure if the ball actually hit Rizzo or if it was just a swing. After some discussion, the umpires ultimately rule that Rizzo did swing and the call is changed to strike three. Rizzo calmly acknowledges the correct call, saying "Yeah, it was definitely a swing. Okay, thank you." Mets manager Mickey Callaway then emerges from the dugout to argue the reversal, as Cubs manager Joe Maddon also comes out to voice his displeasure. The two managers engage in a lengthy discussion with the umpires, with Maddon questioning how they can be sure it wasn't a foul ball if they're overturning the initial safe call. The umpires explain that since the ball did not hit the bat, it must have hit Rizzo for it to be a strike. After the heated exchange, Callaway ultimately decides to remove Vargas from the game. As Vargas heads to the dugout, he shares a few parting words with the pitching coach, seemingly relieved to be out of the tense situation. Despite the chaotic sequence, the Mets manage to close out the 2-2 game and send it to extra innings. This heated on-field dispute showcases the high stakes and intensity of late-season baseball, as both teams jockey for playoff position in the National League.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentJason Vargas was pitching to the Cubs
today he just got his title of oldest
Matt taken away from him when they hired
the 82 year old pitching coach his
facing Rizzo young buck 2-2 count and he
swings it hit some and they go to the up
and goes out and I wasn't [ __ ]
watching I'll just say safe I guess and
Vargas like you had safe on that [ __ ]
swing I can't believe it has to look
around you had safe on the swing he
[ __ ] went all the way around he can't
believe it and yeah it hits him but yeah
that's a swing like come on he's like
what are you doing what are you doing
the elms get together god damn it he
says the ups get together and the guy
down third it's like to be honest I have
no [ __ ] idea let's get everyone
together this guy asked and did it hit
him
I don't know they'd hit him yeah then
the other guy on the right he finally
talks and he's like yeah it was
definitely a swing he's like okay it was
yeah okay so may not bugs like you guys
better get this [ __ ] right what you
call once the call goes Rizzo says yeah
and the ball hit you but you swung
strike three really okay thank you you
got it right Vargas is happy Joe Maddon
comes just like what we swung in it so
to strike things like well he didn't say
it was a swing he's like yeah well we
got together and overruled him because
he was a big dummy and Maddon talks
forever because he is the most
exhausting man in baseball as the
billion questions like so if it was a
check swing how do you know it's not a
foul ball it's like well it didn't hit
the bat had to hit him Oh
smoke smoke smog talking talking talking
bye and then Callaway at the end comes
and takes Vargas out of the game anyway
after all of that it's like yeah well
good strikeout you're ending on a high
note and he walks in and him in pitching
coach you can talk about World War two
and some other fun stuff he says thank
you and apologizes and in comes this
dude