Nico Hoerner ejection audio is everything fans hate about MLB

The Chicago Cubs dropped two of three games against the Detroit Tigers over the weekend, and the biggest takeaway was that Major League Baseball has a growing problem with umpires being at the center of the stage. The latest example of that came during the Cubs' loss to the Tigers on Sunday, when second baseman Nico Hoerner was ejected following a questionable strike-three call.

Now, if you're taking a poll of the player most likely to be ejected during a game, Hoerner is not at the top of that list. Hoerner is one of the most even-keeled players on the Cubs' roster, and even in his ejection, the Cubs' second baseman proved that.

Nico Hoerner's ejection is another awful reflection of the poor state of MLB umpires

There are a few magical words that will get a player ejected immediately, but in this case, the quick hook from Derek Thomas speaks to his inexperience as a Major League umpire. In the rubber game of a series between two of the best teams in Major League Baseball, Thomas took it upon himself to become a storyline. There is never a case where an umpire should be one of the biggest takeaways from the game. It's unlikely that Thomas will face any immediate consequences, but he's likely to receive no meaningful assignments in October. That would be the right case for his thin-skinned moment of embarrassment on Sunday afternoon.

The good news is that it seems Major League Baseball appears to be headed in the direction of implementing the automated ball-strike challenge system for the 2026 season. That is at the forefront of proposals Rob Manfred plans to present to MLB's competition committee. After testing the system during spring training, it seems that MLB plans on moving forward with the rollout.

Of course, the challenge system would prevent an incident like the one that occurred for Hoerner and the Cubs on Sunday. Instead of Hoerner and Craig Counsell getting ejected from the game, the Cubs would have been able to challenge the strike call, and the system would have confirmed what everyone already knew: Thomas really was having a bad day.