MLB Fans Absolutely Dismayed By Doug Eddings's Bad Calls During Cubs-Tigers Game

Doug Eddings rings up Pete Crow-Armstrong on what appeared to be a pitch outside the zone | @AldoSoto21 on X (formerly Twitter)

Everyone from known MLB journalists to casual fans to the respective dugouts of the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs seemed to have a bone to pick with Doug Eddings on Saturday afternoon. Eddings had the home plate assignment calling balls and strikes for the matinee, and made some head-scratching calls to say the least, calling several outside pitches that looked like clear balls as strikes.

Jon Heyman quote-Tweeted David Kaplan's complaint about Eddings, going so far as to suggest that Eddings and umpires making similarly bad calls should be replaced by robo-umps selectively. Quite a brazen critique.

How about Robo umps in for a select few who have diminished sight? https://t.co/bY7rQpW9Ef
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 7, 2025

Jesse Rogers noted that the reaction from the Cubs dugout in particular was bold and loud. In one instance, Eddings called a third strike on Kyle Tucker on a possible check swing without consulting with the base umpire.

Here are some of the calls in question and reactions from fans online:

What is Doug Eddings looking at???????????? This is HORRIBLE
— Jacob Zanolla (@jacobzanolla) June 7, 2025

Doug Eddings sucks pic.twitter.com/nMgbcsONlC
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) June 7, 2025

ABS system can’t come sooner.

Doug Eddings is awful. pic.twitter.com/0I9jl0JBeH
— Caleb Williams Fan Club (@CalebFC18) June 7, 2025

Doug Eddings has been really bad today. Ask the third base ump, not that hard

Only a matter of time until the Cubs have seen enough https://t.co/zUaoAYZr7b
— Jacob Zanolla (@jacobzanolla) June 7, 2025

Doug Eddings every time the Cubs come to the plate pic.twitter.com/PijTNHUoVA
— CUBS WORLD (@TrumpsGoodEar24) June 7, 2025

Just a brutal performance from Doug Eddings today. He said "I'll get better" but he's getting worse pitch by pitch @MLB @UmpireAuditor @UmpScorecards
— Hurricane_Johnson🇺🇸 (@BenTheBear69) June 7, 2025

We've all had a bad day at work. Having to face a very public forum of critique can't be easy for anyone, umpires included, but the expectation for the highest level of the game to make reliable and high-quality calls is reasonable.

During spring training, MLB tested ABS, which allows batters and pitchers to challenge balls/strikes and gets instant feedback from the league's automated system. Over half of the challenges resulted in an overturn of the original home plate call according to the league's report. Generally, it was a well-received system that didn't do away with home plate umpires entirely, but allowed for some checks and balances. It may be used in the regular season in the future but is not in use this year.