


Spencer Torkelson was not shy about airing his displeasure with a strike call on Monday night.
The Detroit Tigers first baseman was batting in the bottom of the seventh inning with two runners on and a chance to tie the game or take the lead as the Tigers trailed the Royals 4-3, when a 2-2 changeup from Kansas City reliever Taylor Clarke was called a third strike.
Torkelson immediately let his displeasure with the call be known.
“Oh my f—king god,” he said, the field microphone picking up his frustration toward home plate umpire Will Little.
“The f—k are you looking at?”
Warning: Graphic language
The broadcast’s strike zone appeared to indicate the pitch was a strike, and MLB’s pitch chart agreed.
It was part of a frustrating night for Torkelson, who went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
However, outfielder Kerry Carpenter followed Torkelson’s at-bat with a three-run homer, which gave Detroit the lead for good in a 6-4 victory.
Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick by the Tigers in the 2020 MLB Draft, has struggled to make an impact in the majors.
After posting impressive statistics at three levels of the minor leagues, he has hit for a .645 OPS with 16 home runs over his first 700 big-league plate appearances.
More recently, he has begun to hit his stride.
Over the last 14 days, he has a .818 OPS with three home runs, and he is now hitting .231/.313/.386 on the season.
The Tigers, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2014, are counting on Torkelson to help power the offensive side of their rebuild, but the 23-year-old has been worth negative WAR over his career so far, per Baseball Reference.
Though Detroit is just 31-40 this year, it is only four games out of first place in a weak AL Central division.