Baseball fans watching Game 1 of the 2024 World Series were baffled to find an essential piece of the broadcast missing when the Los Angeles Dodgers came up to bat against the New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole: The strike zone.
When Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman came up to bat in the bottom of the first inning, fans noticed that FOX Sports’ strike zone overlay was missing when the Dodgers came to bat. Interestingly, the graphic was on display when the Yankees were batting at the top of the inning.
Almost immediately, fans conspired that the reason the strike zone overlay was missing when the Dodgers were up was because of home plate umpire Carlos Torres’ inconsistent strike zone. On social media, fans spoke out about the missing overlay, stating how Torres needed to do a better job.
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“Fox turned off the strike zone overlay because he’s so bad lmao,” one fan wrote. Another added: “Only took 1/2 an inning for Fox to remove the strike zone graphic. Ump show on the biggest stage.”
Other fans were conspiring about the change, thinking the league was doing what it could to make the umpires look good, especially with so many fans from around the world tuning in to watch how each team fared against one another. “@Jomboy noticed no strike zone for the first 3 batters in Bottom of 1st. MLB not wanting to expoinse the home plate ump after the Top 1st inconsistencies?
Another fan posted: “lmao they took away the strike zone graphic because they know the ump is horrible.” While the general consensus during this time was that FOX and MLB were doing their part to help the umpires, some fans preferred not having a strike zone on the screen.
The strike zone overlay returned after a brief disappearance in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series (
FOX)
“I love no strike zone broadcasts,” a fan posted. After the brief hiccup in the bottom of the first inning, the overlay has been present throughout the entire game, which is shaping up to be a pitcher’s duel between Cole and Dodgers ace Jack Flaherty.
The Yankees were only able to muster two hits through four innings, with Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo being the only players to get a hit off Flaherty. Meanwhile, Freddie Freeman accounted for Los Angeles’ only hit, a triple after former Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo misplayed a double.
Even though Ohtani had yet to find success against Cole in the game, it appeared it would only be a matter of time before he connected – if Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz is to be believed. Before Game 1, “Big Papi” explained how Ohtani’s relentlessness was what made him an even more unique player.
“This is a guy who, when he’s a slump, for him, it don’t matter, he continues swinging and stays aggressive,” Ortiz claimed. “If you give him something to hit, he knocks it out of the park.”
Yankees legend Derek Jeter echoed his former rival’s sentiment. Of note, Ortez elected to call Ohtani a “unicorn,” which he could be considering his immense two-way ability.
Just to follow up on what you said, you said he’s a unicorn,” Jeter added. “People always ask me who does Ohtani remind you of, well, he’s a unicorn. There aren’t other unicorns. There’s just one of him.”
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