Umpires are once again in the spotlight for poor officiating, and now former players are starting to chime in with their thoughts on the game.
Doug Eddings blew a call in Saturday’s game between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs that led to chirping from the Cubs dugout.
Now, Hall of Famer Chipper Jones is sharing his experience with Eddings.
“”Not only one of the worst umpires in the league for going on 2 decades … but consistently one of the most confrontational. Toxic combination!” Jones posted on X.
Not only one of the worst umpires in the league for going on 2 decades…..but consistently one of the most confrontational. Toxic combination! https://t.co/C3CrVLUryU
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) June 8, 2025
Eddings’ performances have been so poor over the last few seasons that he’s even drawing comparisons to Angel Hernandez. He may not be as bad as Hernandez, but he’s slowly heading toward Hernandez territory.
“Eddings, like Hernandez, long has had a reputation of being a lousy umpire, and that was underscored on Saturday, when he blew a bunch of calls behind the plate in a game between the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers,” wrote Kevin Manahan in a column for nj.com.
Bad calls from umpires and umpires with major egos like Eddings have fueled the fire of pressure on commissioner Rob Manfred to bring the ABS challenge system into play for the regular season.
Even those who are pushing for the challenge system or “robo umps” understand the best umpires get a call wrong. People are human and make mistakes. When the technology exists to correct those mistakes, though, it needs to be implemented for the best possible on-field product.
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