MLB fans slam ump Phil Cuzzi for ejecting Javier Baez in strike 3 call controversy 

As the Detroit Tigers took on the San Francisco Giants Monday, veteran shortstop Javier Baez was at the center of controversy.

Batting with a 3-2 count in the bottom of the fifth, Baez was called out on strikes by umpire Phil Cuzzo on a pitch that appeared to be missing the strike zone. When Baez displayed his disagreement with Cuzzo's call, the 32-year-old was promptly ejected from the game.

A clip of the incident was later uploaded on X/Twitter by insider Rob Friedman.

"Can we eject Phil Cuzzi for this call? [Javy Baez ejected for having a better eye than Cuzzi]" Friedman posted

Replying to the post, plenty of fans ripped into Cuzzi's controversial decision.

"@mlb can fix it, literally tomorrow. They won’t and it is a shame. Imagine pro tennis still using humans to call lines and instantly everyone in the stadium knows the call is wrong and nobody can do anything about it. Absurd," a fan wrote

"Robo umps cannot come soon enough," another fan posted.

"Seeing a lot of this lately across MLB. Bad calls followed by player and mgr tossings," one fan replied.

"Human umpires will be a thing of the past soon enough. They all suck," a fan said.

"It’s always Phil Cuzzi. Doesn’t matter where he is on the diamond, he’ll find a way to make sure you know he’s out there," another fan commented.

"one of the worst strike 3 calls I’ve ever seen," one fan added.

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Javier Baez explains outburst in postgame interview

Soon after the Tigers' game against the Giants ended, Javier Baez spoke to reporters about the controversial incident that was arguably the biggest talking point of the afternoon.

Explaining why he reacted the way he did, the Puerto Rican said it was not the umpire's call, but the way he spoke to him, that caused him to lose his temper.

"It wasn't a f**king strike," Baez said via Local 4 News' Joel Sebastianelli on X. "That’s the only thing I said. And then he said, ‘Don’t point at it. Walk out.’ And then I said, ‘What do you mean, walk out? I’m asking you something,’ and then he just threw me out.

"It’s not even about the call. It’s about how he treated me. I’m not an animal. We can talk. We can argue. And that’s it. If he would’ve told me, ‘OK, I missed it,’ I would’ve f–king shut up. I know he’s not perfect, but don’t treat me like that," he added.

Luckily for Baez and the Tigers, the ejection did not prove to affect the result on the day, as the AL Central leaders improved their record with a comfortable 3-1 victory.