When was the last time we got to see an immaculate inning? Well, it’s not not very often do we get to see such an inning. But it wasn’t until May 18, 2025, that a pitcher dominated the lineup and recorded nine consecutive strikes. Cal Quantrill of the Miami Marlins set this record, etching his name as a worthy contender in the annals of baseball history.

Now, on Thursday, Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was on the verge of achieving a similar record. But unfortunately, the home plate umpire had some other plans. The 3-5 loss to the Padres was still tolerable for the Dodgers, but not the poor call by the umpire that robbed Yamamoto of an immaculate inning.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was well on his way to striking out three hitters in his nine pitches. As Martin Maldonado was struck out while swinging and Bryce Johnson was called out on strike, everything appeared to be in order. The last man standing was Fernando Tatis Jr., who was already going 0-2. It was a chance of a lifetime for Yamamoto, but umpire Marvin Hudson played spoilsport, calling pitch three a ball.

Stressing the incident, MLB insider Rob Friedman shared a post on X, writing, “WHAT IN THE WORLD?? This call cost Yoshinobu Yamamoto an Immaculate inning!! 😳😳” The clip shared by him gives us a glimpse that the ball was right at the borderline middle. Of course, the pitch was a bit above the strike zone, but for sure it would have been called a strike most of the time.

Interestingly, it was not just Friedman who was frustrated. The fans literally lambasted the umpire for making such a wrong call. If only it had been given a strike, it could have been a game-defining moment that Yamamoto would have cherished for long.

This season, there have been plenty of instances where umpires made wrong calls. Right after Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s curveball was called low, he threw a cutter that was out of the zone only a bit. But the wrong umpire call cost him big, as he finally settled for three strikeouts in the 11 pitches. While this kind of achievement may sound simple, it’s a difficult feat to achieve. Only three pitchers have recorded immaculate innings more than two times: Max Scherzer, Sandy Koufax, and Chris Sale.

Now that Yamamoto’s loss overshadowed his performance in the game, fans are venting their frustration and anger towards the umpire. And given the number of wrong calls made by the umpires this season, isn’t it’s fair enough to get angry?

Yoshinobu Yamamoto falling short of an immaculate inning sparked frenzy among the fans

The Los Angeles Dodgers are still standing atop the NL West. But the Padres surely proved everyone why they are often considered the arch nemesis of the Dodgers. They handed the Dodgers a 5-3 defeat. However, this loss would haunt the Dodgers even more because of Yamamoto being robbed of the immaculate inning. Fans are fuming over what happened.

“This brutal call just cost Yoshinobu Yamamoto an immaculate inning! 😳😳9 pitches, 3 Ks, was right there… And the ump said NOPE. Baseball gods, why? ⚾️💔,” a fan commented on the post. His frustration was clearly evident after what happened. Yamamoto entered the night with a 2.64 ERA, going 6-5. He was just one strike away from that 9 pitches, 3 Ks mark until umpire Marvin Hudson missed the strike three call. And the disappointment is evident, isn’t it?

Echoing a similar statement, an X user delivered a scathing attack on the umpire. “This is shockingly bad. I’d be so damn pissed if I were a fan; seeing one of those is rarer than a no-hitter. Marvin Hudson is trash.” Marvin Hudson, who robbed Yamamoto of the immaculate inning, is perhaps one of the most hated umpires in MLB. What could have been a near-perfect game for Yamamoto turned out to be a big opportunity lost. All because of Hudson, who made the wrong call, despite the visuals clearly showing that the ball was a strike.

Another fan, shedding his frustration, wrote, “Absolutely trash call.” Well, a lot of fans agree that the umpire’s call was poor. But this isn’t the first time Hudson has been making the wrong calls. If you remember back in 2024, he was called the third worst umpire. Not only did he miss 24 calls in a faceoff between the Mets and the Orioles, but also his accurate call percentage dipped to just 83.4%. Most importantly, he was even ranked 82nd, which means nearly at the bottom of the charts comprising 90 umpires. So, is it high time to bring some changes?

Well, another fan expressed the need to include ABS. “Can’t express how much we need ABS.” According to a lot of fans, it’s high time that MLB thought about implementing the ABS. This could not only reduce the chances of errors, but it would also allow the players to challenge the call made by the umpire. Thereby reducing the chances of further errors and, at the same time, helping the players acquire a better understanding of the strike zones.

An X user teased the umpires as well as MLB for not doing anything to solve the problems that are occurring again and again. “This is exactly why MLB umpires should be required to hold postgame media sessions. If they can’t face basic accountability, then it’s clear their union operates more like a mafia that only answers to the commissioner.” While MLB and the umpire union have reached a collective agreement for a five-year deal, there hasn’t been any perfect solution to the wrong umpire call problem. Now that it’s now at a stage where this kind of call may not only cost the game but also rob players of some unique records, it’s important to ensure that the umpires are allowed to speak openly during the post-game conferences. And if that doesn’t happen, then the umpires would have the privilege of not being accountable for any wrong action they undertake. It would give us a reminder that the umpires can do whatever they want and even the commissioner won’t stop them.  

While the outrage among the fans is quite evident, it’s also important for MLB to take the necessary measures to tackle such instances. Maybe the implementation of ABS will work or even any other technologies like those being used in soccer and tennis. But despite that, a question is still there: how long are we going to see such errors by the umpires that are costing the game and also the players?