Let’s be real that being a home plate umpire in Major League Baseball is no walk in the park. You’re staring down 95+ mph heat, 12-6 curves that drop like a trapdoor, and splitters that vanish off the plate. It’s a tough gig. But even with all that in mind… some mistakes just shouldn’t happen.
Enter Derek Thomas on Wednesday night in Arlington during the Diamondbacks-Rangers game. What happened? Well, Thomas made one of those “oops” moments that immediately launches itself into the highlight reels—not for brilliance, but for blunder.
Arizona’s Adrian Del Castillo stepped up to the plate in the fifth with two runners aboard. The count builds, and then—strike! Thomas rings him up like it’s strike three. Cue confusion. Because guess what? That was only strike two.
Umpire Noticed Immediately
To his credit, Thomas caught the error almost instantly. Within seconds, he corrected himself and let everyone know the at-bat was still alive. The announcers couldn’t help but laugh. It was the kind of moment that doesn’t hurt anyone, doesn’t shift the game dramatically, but definitely earns a raised eyebrow or two from fellow umps watching at home.
Then, in true baseball fashion, Del Castillo delivered some poetic justice. He lined to right field for a single on the next pitch. And just to tie a bow on the sequence, Ketel Marte was gunned down trying to score at home—this time on a clean, easy call from Thomas, who got back on track fast.
Umpires are gonna give Thomas a little grief for this one. It’s not every day you see a guy ring someone up on strike two. In a sport where fans are already clamoring for robo-umps, these kinds of moments don’t help the “human element” case.
Still, if you’re going to make a mistake, best to own it quickly, laugh with it, and get the next call right. And Thomas? He checked all those boxes in about a minute flat.
