Ump show: Even Jackson Holliday gets the rookie treatment with brutal calls against him

Yes, ump show even comes for Baltimore Orioles rookie Jackson Holliday. The No. 1 prospect in baseball had an incredible return to MLB by hitting a grand slam in his first game back, but apparently not everyone was impressed.

Holliday had nothing but good things to say about his spot on the Orioles roster, and his role moving forward after a grand slam brought plenty of fanfare.

“That’s about as best as I can hit a ball,” Holliday said after the game. “That’s about all I got.”

Holliday was floated in some very fake, not based in reality trade rumors for Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Chicago White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet, neither of whom were moved at the deadline. The Tigers asking price was astronomical, while Crochet might not be able to pitch in the playoffs. The Orioles had a very good reason for not moving Holliday for either player.

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Orioles rookie Jackson Holliday is latest victim of the ump show

Home plate umpires are great for content, but not necessarily for the health of the sport. That is why Rob Manfred and MLB are exploring a new challenge system which would allow players (or managers, for that matter) to check on surprising calls during at-bats.

Umpire John Bacon, who is certainly not the Angel Hernandez of his era, made some puzzling calls against Holliday in his at-bat against Cleveland Guardinas starting pitcher Ben Lively.

Consistency is key with home plate umpires, and Bacon did not provide that during this Holliday plate appearance. The second pitch of Jackson's AB was clearly outside, and was called a ball. Yet, a similar pitch was called a strike to K Holliday on Lively's fifth pitch.

Auditing umpires on any given pitch is unfair, as is calling out referees in any sport for specific calls. It has to be taken in the context of a game. However, given Bacon called a similar pitch a ball during the same AB, we have some serious questions.

Brandon Hyde did not argue the pitch much, nor was he ejected defending Holliday. So, perhaps this is all for nothing. However, Holliday should not be punished for his status in the league, and such a call could have huge implications on the AL playoff race given these two teams are both division leaders.