Jason Vargas was on the mound against the Cubs when things got weird in a 2-2 count against Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo swung and the ball hit him. The initial call was unclear, and the umpires appeared confused. Vargas immediately argued that Rizzo had clearly swung. One ump signaled safe, prompting Vargas to ask the crew how that could be the ruling on such an obvious full swing. The umpires huddled, openly admitting they weren’t sure if the ball hit Rizzo or if it was a foul. One finally called it a swing, which matched what Vargas and most observers already knew.
Once the crew corrected the call to strike three, Rizzo quietly accepted it and walked off. That brought out Joe Maddon, who questioned the ruling in his usual long-winded way. He peppered the umpires with questions about how they could tell if it hit the bat or just the batter, despite the clarified call. The umpires explained, and Maddon eventually stopped talking, clearly not thrilled but out of arguments.
Vargas seemed satisfied with the corrected call but was pulled shortly after by manager Mickey Callaway. The two shared a quick moment in the dugout, cracking a joke about how old the new pitching coach is, who at 82 just stole Vargas’s title as the oldest Met. Then the next pitcher came in. It was a messy process, but the umps got it right in the end.