Juan Soto — the guy with one of the most elite strike zone judgments in all of Major League Baseball — stood frozen at home plate on Saturday, staring into the Cincinnati afternoon like he’d just seen a ghost. What happened? He got called out on strikes in an at-bat that felt off. And not just to him.
Let’s set the scene: bottom of the first inning, Mets vs. Reds, Soto steps in against lefty Nick Martinez. First pitch, Soto takes it — ball one. No problem. Then Martinez paints the inside edge, just at the letters, with a cutter. Soto lets it go, clearly thinking it was ball two. But home plate ump Manny Gonzalez rings it up for a strike. That’s where things started to feel weird.
Soto, never one to cause a scene, muttered something toward Gonzalez. He didn’t get animated. He didn’t flip out. But you could tell he wasn’t buying it.
He fouled off the next two pitches — 1-and-2 count now — and then came the sinker. Up in the zone, borderline at best. Soto watches it. Gonzalez calls strike three. And Soto? He just stood there. No protest, no bat slam — just this long, empty stare like someone who just got an unexpected plot twist in a movie he’s seen a thousand times.
Usually One of the Better Umpires in MLB
Manny Gonzalez is usually one of the better ball-and-strike umps in the league. Umpire Scorecards has him rated among the most accurate in 2025. But even the best miss one — and from the looks of the replay, this one might’ve been just that.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza wasn’t as calm as Soto — he let Gonzalez hear it from the dugout — but Soto’s reaction said more than words ever could. When a guy like Juan Soto looks baffled at a called third strike? You know something’s off.
In the end, it’s just one at-bat. But when a hitter that disciplined gets frozen twice in the same plate appearance? People notice.
