Tigers broadcaster Jason Benetti can’t believe what he’s witnessing from the MLB replay office.
Is anyone drunk? Do those responsible for replays even watch the footage that fans watch at home? Benetti and Tigers color analyst Andy Dirks worked a game Thursday that featured two calls that ended up in the hands of umpires in favor of the Mets, who won the game 9-4 for a three-game sweep.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Gage Workman of the Detroit Tigers is knocked out by Brett Baty of the New York Mets during their game at Citi Field in New York on May 14, 2026. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
“This is going to get ugly real quick,” Dirks said seconds after the home plate umpire announced that the New York office had overturned a 5th-inning call. To be fair, the game took a turn for the worse in the top of the 4th when Tigers manager AJ Hinch was ejected from the game after getting into a screaming match with the umpire following a call at third base.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE
By the next round, Benetti and Dirks had seen enough. “I’ll tell you what, the Tigers have every right to believe that something is wrong on their end right now, whether it’s the baseball gods or whatever,” Benetti added after Dirks’ comment. “The first one was ridiculous. The first one should have been safe. This one, I just don’t know if we saw clear evidence of anything.”
“If this one wasn’t clear proof at the third, how can you have clear proof at the beginning? I’m just beside myself trying to figure out what these rules mean and who has discretion over what,” Dirks replied.
MLB maintains a page on its website where it shows several angles of replay challenges. Here is the play of the 4th round. Even the Mets booth said the Tigers runner was safe. The New York rebroadcast executives didn’t see it that way. You make the call. Based on the additional footage provided by MLB, the 5th inning reversal appears to be the right decision.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
Coming back to Dirks, how is the decision in the fifth round different from the fourth? Watch the videos and tell me. What is clear is that baseball must now find a way to determine a definitive angle. And show it to fans in real time. They shouldn’t have to check the MLB replay archives every night.
