Veteran umpire Eddings was behind the plate for Game 2 of the ALCS between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

In this game, the home plate umpire called 11 balls inside the estimated umpire zone (EUZ) and called seven strikes outside of the EUZ, according to Umpire Scorecards. In other words, Eddings was oddly harsh on the balls in the zone, but was expanding his zone to call balls outside of the plate strikes. The issue stems from the difference between those should-have-been-strikes and should-have-been-balls because the “balls” in this game could have changed the trajectory of the game.

However, the Blue Jays did benefit from Eddings’ call at the bottom of the second when Logan Gilbert’s strike to George Springer at a 3-2 count with two outs is called a ball, because this later sets the foundation for Toronto to score its first run in the game. This is one of the reasons why Eddings’ overall favour is +0.24 for Toronto in the scorecard below.

Because Eddings’ zone was consistently inconsistent throughout Game 2, this left both Seattle and Toronto’s various pitchers frustrated and confused. Even if the home plate umpire’s call wasn’t giving one team a massive five-run advantage, he was gradually changing the playing field as bad calls stacked up.

Doug Eddings wasn’t just bad; it was one of the worst performances in recent postseason history.

Umpire Auditor revealed that Eddings missed 24 calls in Game 2 of the ALCS, which was the worst-called postseason game since October 7, 2022. Coincidentally, that game was also called by Eddings himself.

Going back to the Umpire Scorecards, Eddings had 4.4 fewer correct calls compared to an average umpire, which isn’t a small number in a playoff game. For a more blunt comparison in this playoff race, take a look at umpire John Libka’s performance for Game 1 of the NLCS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers, also from Tuesday. Libka only had 0.6 fewer correct calls than an average umpire and recorded only – 0.3% below expected accuracy. These numbers all serve as a stark contrast to Eddings’ woefully inconsistent performance and also prove that an umpire’s performance is crucial in playoff games.

This isn’t exactly the first time Doug Eddings impacted the course of the game. In fact, he has been notorious for his inaccuracy for the past few years.

Notably, the Blue Jays may be familiar with him from his performance on September 23, 2025, when Toronto was facing Boston. Yes, this is the game where George Springer understandably expressed his extreme dissatisfaction after getting a foul call on an actual fair ball and was struck out by none other than Eddings on a ball.

Although this isn’t Eddings’ worst game based on Umpire Scorecards’ numbers, this late September game was one of the more bitter games for the Blue Jays and their fanbase because of the foul ball call, along with Eddings’ generous strike zone for the Boston Red Sox’s starter, Lucas Giolito. This moment is even more magnified because, without these two consecutive bad calls, the Blue Jays could have earned their chance to win this game. This, in turn, would have changed how the AL East division race showdown unfolded.

Turning back the clock to 2022, some Blue Jays fans may remember Eddings from a regular-season game against the Chicago White Sox. In this game, the umpire gave a whopping 2.03 runs in Chicago’s favour and recorded a meagre 64% called strike accuracy, which cancelled out his stellar performance in called ball accuracy, which was somehow at 99%. To put it more bluntly, Eddings missed 29 calls in this game alone, and his performance most certainly influenced how this game played out. With some help from Eddings, the White Sox won a long 12-inning game with the score of 7-6. For any die-hard Blue Jays fans, this would go down as one of the worst-called regular-season games, at least in Toronto’s recent history.

Umpiring is an essential part of baseball, like any other sport. The importance of a home plate umpire can’t be understated, with players trusting this person with the accuracy and, in some cases, flow of the game. Good umpiring usually goes unnoticed because no one else has to argue any call. But on the flip side, bad umpiring ignites uncontrollable anger and helps people, including fans, realize just how critical an umpire’s job is.

Doug Eddings’ performance behind the plate this Monday matters because it shows how bad umpiring made a considerable impact in a playoff game. While Eddings didn’t give a heavy advantage to any teams with his calls, his inconsistently expanded and shrunken strike zones were a detriment to the Blue Jays and Mariners, who are playing for a shot at the World Series.

Umpiring a game during a regular season and a playoff is a completely different ball game. A regular-season game that wasn’t umpired well doesn’t drastically change a team’s fate, but a badly umpired game in a playoff leaves many “what if” questions and could potentially take away games from teams that deserved a chance.

Monday’s game between Toronto and Seattle wasn’t exactly all a Doug Eddings show. In a way, it was, but the Blue Jays lost the game mainly because they couldn’t find a way to score more runs, nor prevent them. That said, had Eddings had a more consistent strike zone, it could have given both teams a more level playing field to duel each other out.

Eddings isn’t the first, nor is he the last, in inconsistent umpiring. But he is a painful reminder that those who are rarely correct still collect the reward.