MLB umpire Phil Cuzzi did little to shake his reputation as one of the worst umps in baseball on Monday when he ejected Javier Baez. Cuzzi called Baez out looking on a strike inches below the zone. When the Detroit Tigers outfielder gave him a piece of his mind, Cuzzi sent him to the showers.
After the game, Baez told reporters exactly what he said to the umpire:
“I only said, ‘I’m looking for that pitch. It’s not a f***ing strike.’ 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.”
Cuzzi's quick trigger is made more ridiculous by one look at the call. It was horrendous.
Can we eject Phil Cuzzi for this call?
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 26, 2025
[Javy Baez ejected for having a better eye than Cuzzi] pic.twitter.com/JBPRtElRyn
No wonder Baez was incensed. It was a terrible call and even more embarrassing ejection.
"It's not even about the call. It's about how he treated me. I'm not an animal," Baez said. "We can talk. We can argue. And that's it. If he would've told me, 'OK, I missed it,' I would've fucking shut up. I know he's not perfect, but don't treat me like that."
Javier Báez on Phil Cuzzi: "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 fucking shut up. I know he's not perfect, but don't treat me like that." https://t.co/5gJaIPqQQ7
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) May 26, 2025
Baez's biggest mistake was expecting an umpire to be honest about a missed call. Umpires are infallible, don't you know. And daring to express your doubt over a bad call is a surefire way to get ejected.
When robot umpires inevitably take over, at least we won't have to worry about these kinds of ejections.
MLB Twitter was united on Phil Cuzzi's ridiculous ejection of Javy Baez
Cuzzi is such a joke of an umpire, even San Francisco Giants fans couldn't believe this one.
Phil Cuzzi should be suspended for that call on Javy Baez. If you miss a call that bad, you need to let the guy have words. @MLB this is why your league is a joke. No one came to watch ego umps. But you won’t do anything and continue to lose ratings
— SFGIANTSNEWS (@BetTipsJr1) May 26, 2025
I say this as a Giants fan…@MLB needs to get Phil Cuzzi out of here man—his zone is so bad and he’s such a short fuse. That crap he just pulled on Baez is ridiculous and has no place at this level.
— Jon Miller (@NathanDrakePS6) May 26, 2025
Get him out here man @JeffPassan
This didn't have to be a big deal. Baez was walking away. The situation was already being diffused with AJ Hinch coming over to mediate. Cuzzi made it all worse.
In the end, Baez's ejection didn't impact the result (though it would be no surprise if MLB had something to say about his postgame remarks). He exited after going 0-2 and was replaced by Matt Vierling. The Tigers generated three runs on two RBI singles to secure a 3-1 win.