The Cincinnati Reds achieved a hard-earned victory on Sunday to sweep the Twins. But the umpiring in their final road game against Minnesota took all the attention away from their extra-inning heroics. The plate umpire’s horrendous calls almost cost the Reds the game.

“Is he the new Angel Hernandez? If umpires didn’t have their own interpretation of the strike zone and hold personal biases against certain teams, coaches, and players, there would be no need for ABS reviews. The strike zone is determined by MLB, not the umpires,” a fan commented on X. 

Harry Hunter Wendelstedt III has been an MLB umpire for 28 seasons, and he was the one standing behind the plate officiating the Reds game on April 19. Apparently, Wendelstedt missed 22 calls during the game. 

It was more concerning for the Reds fans since 16 of those 22 calls went against Cincinnati. And it included 4 blown strikeouts as well. And the disproportionate treatment towards one team wasn’t the only issue here. According to the Umpire Auditor, no other umpire has “missed on more than 4 strikeouts this season.” 

Hunter Wendelstedt certainly had a bad day, but not as bad as the Reds players. They tried to save their challenges for the late game since teams are only allowed 2 unsuccessful challenges in a 9-inning game. Cincinnati hitters avoided tapping the helmet on several clearly incorrect calls. 

The Reds had to overcome not just the Twins but the umpire’s calls, battling back from a 3-1 deficit in the 8th. Their persistence paid off when Terry Lee Friedl’s game-tying 3-run double in the 9th forced extra innings, where a Rece Hinds double following a single from Elly De La Cruz eventually secured a 7-4 lead.

The Reds ultimately found redemption when catcher Patrick James Higgins used the remaining challenge at the bottom of the 10th to overturn a called ball into a third strike for the Twins, clinching the series. 

And now Hunter Wendelstedt’s repeated missed calls have him compared with Angel Hernandez. The latter was widely considered the most controversial umpire in MLB. Fans and analysts frequently criticized Hernandez for his blown strikeouts and his reputation for inconsistency. 

Although statistical data show him just below average (91-93%), critics noted that his blunders “came in bunches” in many high-leverage moments. Luckily enough, Hernandez retired in 2024, before MLB implemented ABS.

Wendelstedt is having it worse. He is being accused of bias against players or a specific team since the majority of his controversial calls came against the Reds. And the amount of blunders he has made in a single game has many baseball fans calling for more than two challenges per team. 

But most fans have had enough. They want strict actions against such gaffes. 

Hunter Wendelstedt faces outrage as fans demand accountability

One fan wrote, “I watched this game. It was unreal how bad the calls were. When Reds ran out of challenges, they were shaking their heads on calls. Saurez in the 8th let the ump have it after his at bat.”

Many people who watched it live had the same things to say. Third baseman Eugenio Suárez overturned two consecutive strike calls from umpire CB Bucknor on March 28. But the team adopted a highly disciplined strategy to reserve the challenges for the late game. The slugger was in dismay when a controversial third strike retired him in the 8th inning last Sunday. 

“He’s embarrassing his late Father, Harry who was good MLB Umpire,” one annoyed user took a personal dig. 

Harry Wendelstedt was a highly respected MLB umpire and is often regarded as the best of his era. In comparison, Hunter’s career accuracy of 91.5% is below average in MLB. 

Wendelstedt Sr. was a successful mentor who ran an umpiring school for 30 years. Hunter Wendelstedt, with over 70 missed calls from five games this season, didn’t take after his father. 

“Loved how the game ended with a call being overturned. Serves him right. He stopped trying after the reds lost the second challenge,” read another comment.

The Reds fans finally found some satisfaction after Higgins challenged a ball call at 2-2 in the 10th inning. The call was overturned into a third strike, recording a 3-0 series win for Cincinnati. 

One user called for some strict measures, saying, “Guys like him and Bucknor need to be suspended and sent for retraining. If they continue to underperform, they should be fired.”

Both Wendelstedt and Bucknor have been inconsistent this season. While the league-wide success rate for challenges is 54%, Wendelstedt has a success rate around 60%, and Bucknor is close to 75%.

Fans are furious about the fact that these umpires don’t have to face any kind of penalty, even after so many mistakes. They demand immediate accountability. 

“In just about every facet of professional umpiring, the game has passed Wendelstadt by. I feel sorry for the minor league umpire whose roster spot HW is taking. MLB needs to force retirement on umpire staff and this is an obvious case for it,” ranted a fan. 

The rate of inconsistency from umpires has been more apparent since the introduction of the ABS. And 54-year-old Hunter Wendelstedt has been officiating MLB games since 1998.

Fans think that MLB is overlooking younger umpires with better accuracy by still involving umpires with repeated poor performances. 

And for most, it’s not just the nature of the mistakes. It’s the sheer amount of repetitions combined with zero accountability that has frustrated the fans.