MLB umpire Mark Wegner is addressing a controversial call against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night versus the LA Dodgers.
Mark Wegner, who was serving as the home-plate umpire in Monday’s game, drew plenty of controversy on a late strike call on Daulton Varsho in the second inning.
With a 3-1 count, Tyler Glasnow threw a pitch to Varsho that appeared to be well above the strike zone. Assuming he had drawn the walk, Varsho took several steps to first base before a delayed strike was called.
With Varsho having tossed his bat and starting to head down to first, Bo Bichette, who had been on first base, began slowly making his way to second. Unaware that the pitch had been called a strike, Bichette was then picked off for the first out of the inning.
On a clear ball 4, Varsho thinks he walked, Bo Bichette thinks he’s going to 2nd, ump somehow makes a late strike 3 call. What the hell was that @mlb#worldseries
— RGF (@rgfray1) October 28, 2025
Varsho was then able to draw a walk immediately after, which would have given the Jays runners on first and second with no outs for Alejandro Kirk. Instead, it was just Varsho on at first with one out, and the Jays ended up stranding runners on the corners a short time later.
“I called the pitch a strike like I always do, with the voice, the mechanic,” Wegner said. “I guess he didn’t hear me, and so that’s why maybe he started to go to first. And I didn’t really see Bo until afterward. But that’s how I do it every time.”
While Wegner can be heard calling the pitch a strike on the broadcast, some felt as though the signal he gave came late. The veteran umpire disagreed, however, reaffirming that he called it the exact same way he has throughout his entire career.
“That’s exactly how I do every pitch this whole game and for the majority of my career,” Wegner stated. “But it’s very loud out there, for sure.”
The Blue Jays were quite upset at the time, with manager John Schneider telling Fox’s Ken Rosenthal in a mid-game interview that he and his team felt the strike call was far too delayed.
“Mark’s a great umpire, been doing it a long time,” Schneider said. “Very delayed call, pretty deliberate. He just didn’t say anything, so Varsho assumed it was a ball, and Bo assumed.
“I just asked him, in this environment, can he be a little bit quicker, can he give a little bit more clarity, so that everybody knows what’s going on.”
While the controversial call did wind up costing the Blue Jays a run, it was far from the reason they lost last night’s 18-inning game. The Jays were unable to score any runs in extra innings and went on to fall by a 6-5 final in what was the second-longest game in World Series history.
As heartbreaking as the loss was, the Blue Jays will have an opportunity to even up the series at two apiece on Tuesday. Shane Bieber, who appeared close to making an appearance in Game 3, will get the start for the Blue Jays, while Shohei Ohtani will be on the mound for the Dodgers.
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