“Anti Yankee Propaganda”- Calls Mount for MLB’s Firm Intervention After Botched Umpiring Robs $218M Star

A 76mph curveball and even the race to the bag – none of it could stop Max Fried from saying, “It is what it is.” At George M. Steinbrenner Field on Sunday, fans experienced something bizarre. The New York Yankees ace, the team’s $218 million offseason signing, was irresistible against the Tampa Bay Rays. He took a potential no-hitter deep into the game, mesmerizing the crowd. But the dream evaporated not with a crack of the bat, but with a late scoring change.

Between the half-inning break in the eighth, Bill Mathews, the official scorer of the game, changed a sixth-inning error on Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to a hit for Rays center fielder Chandler Simpson. While the Yanks ended up with a 4-0 win, it was surely disappointing for Max Fried.

MLB insider Bryan Hoch reported: “Max Fried is no longer working on a no-hitter. The official scorer has changed Paul Goldschmidt’s 6th inning error to a hit.” And that was it. Fried’s captivating performance of a rare feat vanished with an administrative changeover in a play from two innings earlier, leaving fans and Fried all confused, and of course, frustrated.

Max Fried is no longer working on a no-hitter. The official scorer has changed Paul Goldschmidt’s 6th inning error to a hit.

— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) April 20, 2025

“I looked up and saw two hits,” shared Max Fried, who made his exit from the stadium with a standing ovation from the Bronx Bombers faithful. Because let’s face it: His 7 2/3 scoreless innings assisted the Pinstripes with the beautiful win. The Rays’ bats were mostly quiet in front of him, allowing only walks and errors and never letting them enter the hit column.

But imagine his surprising comeback for the eighth and discover his historic bid was officially over. That retroactive scoring change wiped out the potential milestone during the inning break. While Simpson was “glad they overturned it,” Fried was “just happy we got the win!”

What happened in the sixth inning, though? Tampa Bay’s lightning-quick center fielder, Chandler Simpson, sent a roller toward first base. Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt moved to field it, but the ball “clanked off of his glove.” At first, the official scorer charged Goldschmidt with an error — the third defensive mistake for the Yankees. Simpson’s elite speed, however, always makes such calls difficult, drastically shortening the time defenders have to make a clean play.

But as it seems, Simpson was quite confident about the result, and it did get overruled after a while, calling him safe. But all of these didn’t make the Bleacher Creatures happy!

Yankees fans erupt over Fried’s lost no-hitter and questionable calls

This rare chain of events — a star pitcher on a new team losing a no-hitter on an after-the-fact scoring adjustment — understandably provoked passionate reactions. It took fans, especially those who back the Bronx Bombers, no time to wonder what was up with the official scorer’s judgment and timing. Watching a potential historic moment for their ace snubbed this way triggered instant suspicion and anger.

The bizarre turn of events — where Max Fried lost his no-hitter to a scorer’s pen — sent Yankees fans into a frenzy online. One fan summed up the initial feeling succinctly: “Garbage umps.” This blunt observation encapsulates the gut reaction many had watching their ace, denied history. No-hitters are rare jewels in baseball (only 326 officially recognized since 1876). Seeing one potentially disappear because of what felt like a poor judgment call, rather than the opposing team’s skill, was just unacceptable.

“Anti Yankee propaganda once again,” one fan commented. The calls against the ump simply felt like the Yankee fans have taken it all quite personally. Even back in 2011, in a game against the Mariners, something similar happened with Mathews as Felix Hernandez had given up just one hit in over eight innings. And that gave BJ Upton a single on a play that could otherwise be an error. No wonder fans are dubious this time, too!

This frustration wasn’t just over the scoring change. Earlier in the game, Aaron Judge was called out on a controversial foul ball and a borderline strike, leading to manager Aaron Boone’s ejection. Fans reacted by noting past questionable calls against Judge, “Same dude that called Judge’s ball foul?” For fans, it felt like a pattern of perceived bias or incompetence in officiating decisions involving key players, further fueling discontent.

And since the game took place at Tropicana Field and Mathews is the longtime scorer for the Rays, bias accusations quickly followed. The feeling that the home team had received a favorable call stoked suspicion. As one fan tweeted: “Home cooking! ” That suggested Mathews, who has been the Rays’ official scorer since 2008 with local ties (former Eckerd College coach), might have favored Tampa Bay. While speculative, the concerns about bias grow when controversial calls favor the home team, particularly by officials within that organization.

The outrage ultimately led to calls for league action, as one fan declared, “MLB has to investigate this.” This suggests that the decision wasn’t just a mistake but a potential injustice. MLB’s review process, first approved in 2001 with authority to overturn calls in 2008, according to the official scorer, allows scrutiny. Due to Fried’s high profile and the financial stakes, fans argue for a review to ensure integrity, tying back to the narrative of “Anti-Yankee propaganda” and the need for accountability.

Think it was propaganda? Or a fair call only?

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