MLB fans shocked by umpire Bruce Deckman's strike call during Nationals vs Red Sox game: "He should be suspended"

In another MLB umpire-player saga, the Boston Red Sox found themselves on the receiving end of a blatant call against the Washington Nationals. The home plate umpire for the game, Bruce Deckman, got heavy criticism for the contentious call that ended the top of the fourth innings.

Coming for his at-bat, Red Sox's Justin Turner faced a full-count pitch from Nationals reliever Robert Garcia. The bases were empty with two outs in the game. On an 83 MPH pitch, the Red Sox batter didn't swing as it clearly missed the projected strike zone.

But home plate umpire Bruce Deckman called a strike as Turner went into immediate disbelief. Everyone in the Boston dugout was as surprised as the batter with minor protests emerging.

The announcers in the booth were unhappy with the official's decision as well as they sarcastically laughed it away with an expression of, "Wow".

As he pitched, even Garcia seemed to be on the mound for a few moments expecting a walk to be called against him. The call just grew suspicion among fans on social media who took to X to question his integrity:

Twitter reacts

Twitter reacts

Twitter reacts

Red Sox incident proof that MLB needs to finally experiment with robot umpires?

There have been an increasing number of team-umpire spats this season due to blatant calls made by the officials behind the plate. The Boston Red Sox and Justin Turner just add to the ongoing debate about whether it's time to experiment with technology.

Already, talks of replacing MLB umpires with automated strike-calling systems are making the rounds. The MLB has already tested robot umpires, and with increasing mistakes from senior officials, the top brass might contemplate bringing in automated systems permanently.

The minor leagues have been used as a space where challenge systems are prevalent where managers get to challenge a minimum number of calls from the dugout.