Skip Bayless Flips Out Over Controversial Call Leading to Vanderbilt Upset
By Liam McKeone
A few times a year, Skip Bayless will break out of his false outrage persona and act like a true and irrational fan. This only happens when he is tweeting about Vanderbilt sports. Bayless graduated from the university nearly 50 years ago and their sports teams remain his only true rooting interest; everything else is viewed through the veneer of content. So it seemed shockingly genuine yesterday when Bayless busted out the all-caps tweets blaming a "phantom" hit-by-pitch call that led to Vanderbilt's upset loss in the College World Series regional round.
The Commodores lost to Xavier, 2-1. Bayless was mad because the winning run was granted to Xavier after a very close and questionable HBP with the bases loaded and two outs.
Rain delay means I have time. Here’s Xavier’s Matt DePrey, a go-ahead HBP against Vanderbilt. I don’t think he got hit. Announcers don’t think he got hit, but they assumed Bulger heard something and told Corbin not to challenge (kind of doubt that based on Bulger’s reaction) pic.twitter.com/PK49g98l8R
— Simon Gibbs (@SimonGibbs26) June 4, 2023
The Undisputed host was incensed because he believed the batter flopped and the ump bought the sell job.
My Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team got robbed on a phantom hit by pitch that cost them the winning run. The pitch CLEARLY DID NOT TOUCH THE BATTER. DID NOT CHANGE DIRECTION BEFORE HITTING THE CATCHER'S MITT. UMP OVERREACTED TO BATTER'S FLOP. JUST ABSURD.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 5, 2023
It was pretty tight, but as observed above Vanderbilt's manager could have challenged and did not which suggests it was the right call. Either way, that happened in the bottom of the seventh inning so the Commodores had two innings to rectify this alleged error on their own and failed to do so.
Bayless has opened himself up to some ribbing from Shannon Sharpe. If they're going to do things like that, given the latter's rapidly-approaching departure.