My very subjective, unbiased opinion of the top 10 worst calls of all time. Measuring these took a combination of how bad the call was along with the leverage of the situation.
Only minimal changes would have to be retroactively made to the record books. No offense to Jason Donald but having your career hit total readjusted from 142 to 141 doesn't seem like a big deal. Donald and Crowe would have their stats gently and inconsequentially adjusted, and Galarraga would be granted the perfecto that he very obviously earned. I say give that king his crown, he deserves it
Why? He has done something that had never and will never happen again. MLB’s only 28 out perfect game. Can you name every pitcher to throw a perfect game? No. But can you remember who pitched a 28 out perfect game? Hell yea.
@@HolySoopCoolers it worked, that was absurd, I remember that game. Some of those pitches were over a foot outside, or as Ucker would say, "just a bit outside"
Jim Joyce made the worst call in MLB history, but he and Galarraga shared the greatest display of sportsmanship afterwards. Being from Detroit and watching it live on TV and getting ready to go crazy over witnessing the entirety of a perfect game, only for Joyce to make that awful call, made so many people really angry. Seeing the replay made him realize the grave mistake he had just made and he was in tears. But Galarraga told him that it was ok and accepted all the apologies that Joyce gave him and made Joyce feel better about the call. He didn’t want Joyce to be a pariah. He didn’t want Joyce to feel as if he made the worst call ever. That’s sportsmanship through and through.
Screw Joyce. He deserves to be hated. He sure as hell did NOTHING to rectify his mistake at the time. If no one said a word to him he wouldn't have shed a tear.
@@zackattack7103 Chill with the empty anger. Joyce was repeatedly voted the best umpire by the players and he was upfront about his mistake immediately after the game after reviewing the tape. There was no instant replay and the umps didn't convince him to override.
The outcome of his missed call was the biggest, but it was a close play. Some of these other calls were outrageous. Thankfully we have instant replay now to get these right -- although it didn't help with Rosales's HR.
The right thing for MLB to do is to reverse that call and credit Galaraga with the perfect game. IDK if he is still alive, but it was the third out and would have ended the game.
Robot umps > old dudes with no comprehension of a consistent strike zone... especially angel Hernandez who couldn't even ump a good game if you made him the 3rd base ump so he'd see less action.
Yeah the ump did finally admit to getting the call wrong years later but baseball being the rigid game that it is has yet to award him his perfect game sucks
@@kalymnos0410 okaaay I only got this info on a news broadcast if you could give me footage showing this hard to believe a man without eyes could produce tears
the silver lining with the imperfect game, is the tremendous accountability and humility shown by jim joyce afterward, and the tremendous class shown by gallaraga. it may not be a perfect game in the stat books, but he’s got an unique piece of baseball history for sure.
I still don't understand to this day why they haven't gone back and changed it. It wouldn't be that hard. He made the next out so it's not like changing it to the perfect game he deserves would be an issue. Even with Jim Joyce the next day apologizing MLB just can't stand being wrong I guess.
@@AdapTShadows it could open a can of worms , “well, we need to change this call, and this call,” , but , I do think it was the straw that broke the camel’s back to usher in instant reply, so that’s another positive
@@jbdixon4020 I definitely get that, would be a huge can of worms. Like the 85 world series. I just think that going back and changing calls that could give someone a historical milestone so long as it doesn't affect the outcome of the game, should be done. Gallarga deserves to be on the list of pitchers who've thrown perfect games,
Okay perhaps but it seems like some umps like to be spoilers or want to keep a status quo whether it be balls and strikes or getting a player back for some prior incident they're really more game managers than accurate officials not saying this happened here but seems umps like to fudge the calls against a player if he's having a really good game
As a Tiger fan that fell to the floor in pain at the end of the imperfect game, I agree that was appropriately ranked #1. But the Livan Hernandez strike zone sequence was the most egregious series of calls I've ever seen. That home plate ump should have been publicly fired the very next day.
I'm convinced that on the fan interference play between the Orioles and Yanks, it would have been called fan interference if Derek Jeter hadn't been the hitter. Or if the Orioles were playing anyone other than the Yanks.
@@bobevans2329 , you don’t think either rightly deserve to be in the HOF? Come on. Both pitched during the height of the juicing era, so, at worst, it was a wash. Both would have adjusted to whatever zone there was. Maddux is a top ten pitcher of all time by any standard. Maddux faced 20,421 batters in his career. Only 310 saw a 3-0 count, and 177 of those were intentional walks.
Tdot Game… ridiculous comment. The base runner was upset over the blown call… he sprinted to 1st because he wanted to break the Perfect Game FAIRLY. NOT have it given to him on a blown call.
@@kckcmctcrc actually, baseball is a weird gentleman's game where you don't bunt in that situation, you don't take a walk and you don't run all-out when you hit the ball in the infield. Is that wrong, absolutely! but that's the way they want the game to be played.
I simply didn't (and still don't) understand why one of the other umpires didn't discreetly tell Jim Joyce, "Uh, Jim... he was out by a full step and it's a perfect game. We need to correct the call now."
Umpires don't change their calls without some kind of official review. It just does not happen, ever. He knew it was wrong but was unwilling to set a precedent.
@@Ambrosia-vw1gyno, umpires do revert their call sometimes. The simple reason they didn’t here is, the other umpires just couldn’t tell. On camera from different angles it’s obvious, especially since we can slow it down. Only seeing it in real time once makes it much more difficult to tell. If they can’t say for sure, then they’ll refer to the opinion of the closest ump with the best view.
If they conferences and didn’t change it then Jim Joyce got hung out to dry by his crew. But if I remember right there was no conference. Can’t believe Leyland didn’t get him to ask for help.
I used to watch the Braves with my Dad and I have never seen him more livid at anything in his life than Eric Gregg's strikezone. He wanted to get in his car and drive to Miami as soon as that game was over.
All the Braves hitters knew they couldn't argue because their starters had enlarged strikezones every game. Javy Lopez setting up in the opposite batters box everytime.
@@breadandcircuses8127 I remember watching the Braves starters in the 90s and I remember it was discussed amongst baseball commentators. You could see 1 of Javy Lopez and Eddie Perez’s legs in the other batters box 6 inches off the plate. No assumptions here, going off facts.
@@rp2655 That was a thing in baseball back then. It wasn't just the Braves. It was a trend over a decade where umpires stopped calling strikes above the belt, but started calling stuff just off the black. That being said, most of the calls were an inch or two off the plate, but Gregg was calling was 6+ inches, easily. This video doesn't do it justice, as it just shows the final strike. In some of these AB's the final strike was a true strike, but during the AB there were previous ones (especially one Blauser AB), that were just so bad it made Leslie Nielsen look competent.
Crazy to see some of these old plays, and how lenient umpires were in the screaming and protesting they allowed before ejecting someone. Nowadays, you even look at an umpire after a borderline call, you’re gone instantly
Because there was a lot more respect for the umpires calls before we were able to slow everything down frame by frame, especially with balls and strikes as you could see. A strike a foot outside didn’t even make the batter blink, but nowadays half the times hitters complain about borderline calls IN the strike zone!
@@sportsfix6975 Yeah, usually they just sit in the club house and watch the game or change into street clothes and watch the game from the stands. They rarely ever leave the stadium before the game is over.
The one thing about the perfect game is Jim Joyce really did feel the heat of his mistake. This man took it far more personally than any ump would have. Did he f up. Yeah. Did he show just how badly he regretted it. Yes. And that's more than any other ump in this vid. Such a sad situation for Gallaraga, Detroit, baseball fans at large, and Joyce
then again, other than being one of 20 something in history (that's bound to increase over time) to pitch a perfect game, he's one of one with such a unique situation
No. It was an absolutely despicable call. He will forever be known for possibly the worst call in MLB history. Jim Joyce, the ump who ruined a perfect game.
Honestly, the imperfect game call notwithstanding, the Adam Rosales call is the most glaring to me because it was AFTER replay had been instituted and the clowns in NY still got it wrong despite the obvious change of angle and direction on the fence above the HR line on the wall.
See thats the difference. The first year or two of instant replay they didnt have that extra official in New York, it was the crew chief's final decision.
I remember the Galaragga safe call and felt so angry for him. But watching the crazy strike zone in the Hernandez game was nuts too! Ump must've had to take a dump.
Another big one is Twins vs Yankees at Yankees where Mauer hit a slicing ball down the left field line, the fielder touched it fair, it landed fair, bounced over the fence for a ground rule double, but was called a foul ball.
i saw that one live and I saw he touched it live. Because it he was in bounds, this is an easy call even if the ump was shielded to where the ball landed. Im starting to wonder if some of these umps are cheating on their eye exams. If I could catch it from my couch, I think an ump right there would have no problem at all to see that.
You have no idea how they are or aren’t held to account. In fact, they are. Incorrect calls, especially the misapplication of a rule, impacts their playoff assignments and their job in MLB. They’re human. They’re going to make errors in judgment on occasion. Players make errors, pitchers throw wild pitches, catchers allow passed balls from time to time. Managers make substitution mistakes and strategic errors all the time. Do you expect them to lose their jobs for an occasional mistake? Let’s just replace them with computers too.
Silent Crow: What are you basing that assertion on? You DO realize that MLB umpires are evaluated, every call, every game by external auditors. And playoff assignments with a sizable salary bump are merit based with one of the contributing considerations being in-season performance.
I don't think Atlanta fans give a rip about what the commentator thinks embarrasses them. What's embarrassing is the umps call and the commentator's quickness in blaming the fans instead of focusing on the call.
Game 6 of the 1985 World's Series. I remember Don Denkinger's blown call at first base. In an SI interview, the following Spring he admitted blowing the call. It still hurts 40 years on to see that play.
The fact that the perfect game missed call was the last out of the game I never understood why MLB couldn't have said after the game that the ump was wrong, and corrected the box score.
@@angeleyes9951- They do. Major League Baseball often changes hits to errors and vice versa after games. In this instance, though, they would never change the actual outcome of a safe or out call.
Yeah, they're human and their job is really hard. It's easy to understand a mistake. It's the arrogance and infallibility they display that is so maddening.
He still deserves nothing but hate. Unless it's blatant, you call the runner out in that case. Even if it were a bang bang play you call the runner out
I recall the umpire in the Red Sox vs Yankees phantom tag game saying he blew the call after the game and felt terrible about it. The Yankees had a similar break a previous game in that series that the umpire also missed the call. Sox fans were understandably upset and started throwing things on the filed after that phantom tag because it was the second one of the series late in the game. Yankees won that series in 5 games but it was a much closer series than that implies, thanks in part to those blown calls.
@@kevinconnor6035 I think to be an official you have to have the “I made the right call” mentality no matter what (unless it’s a huge mistake like these). You can’t really afford to second guess yourself on close plays when one side is going to cry about the call either way. Hell half the time on replays where you slow it down frame by frame the call could still go either way
Miggie was so excited and disappointed in one second. They were all bad calls. Galarraga got robbed a perfect game. Got a new subscriber. Was fun to watch. Great video
No, they weren't all bad calls. #9 was indisputably a correct call and #6 is correct because there's no proof it wasn't. I haven't looked that closely at the other calls.
@@hbk314 Bro you’ve clearly never read a rule book or been an umpire. #9 is indisputably an INCORRECT call. It’s called the INFIELD fly rule. That ball was in left field. The infield fly is there to prevent cheap double plays, and there’s no way he could thrown it to third and then to second before the runner from first got there (runners from first run halfway to the base in that situation). It was clearly not in the infield, and the worst that could’ve happened was a force out at 3rd. The offense was robbed of a base runner and an out. #6 isn’t even close. You can clearly see his glove swipe up the runner as he slides. When the throw beats the runner by that much, you don’t call the runner safe unless he obviously missed the tag, which is not the case here. Not trying to be a dick, but as someone who’s umpired for 5 years now, I don’t know how you can possibly say these were the correct calls. If there was any argument to be made about them being correct, they wouldn’t be on top 10 worst calls especially since neither occurred in a high-stakes postseason game. They’re on here because they’re painfully obvious blown calls.
@@brendonbuffaloe8830 Excellent job embarrassing yourself. I've both umpired and read the rulebook. You absolutely need to brush up on the rules if you plan on continuing to umpire. It's hilarious that you tell me to read the rulebook immediately before claiming it has to be in the infield to be called an Infield Fly, which is obviously false. I'll wait for an actual, rulebook-supported reason as to why you believe that call was incorrect. As for the swipe tag in extras, I don't recall ever seeing a video showing a clear tag. Jerry Meals had an angle that's better than any replay has. It's a correct call absent conclusive evidence otherwise. Blame the catcher for doing a terrible job. Also, just for the record, "the ball beat him" isn't a legitimate argument, and I hope you never say that to someone arguing a call. At the levels the vast majority of umpires work (especially solo or two-man), we may have to officiate that way because we can't be everywhere at once. MLB, especially in the era of instant replay, cannot officiate the same way.
Livan Hernandez struck out 15 when in reality it should have been about 6 and the umps helped rob the braves on a world series berth. how that is only number 7 is beyond me. It wasn't one bad call, it was like 20......in ONE game.
The thing that was bad about Galarraga’s imperfect game was the umpire who called him safe. The very next game was in tears, addressing to the crowd and telling Galarraga how sorry he was that he ruined history, and I just couldn’t help myself, but feeling so bad for the umpire he made a bad car, and he knew that he did when he saw it again
Eric Gregg, rest his soul, was an awful home plate umpire. I remember him calling out Andrew Jones in the WS (against the Yankees) on a 3-2 slider that was at least 2 feet wide. "My strike zone," he said. His strike zone was not baseball's.
Fair return for how wide the strike zone Greg Maddox used to get with the Braves. He was so good no reason to give him calls off of both side of the plate when the TV box would show it consistently off the left and ride sides and players getting punched out.
Can we get an honerable mention for the play in the 2021 World Series game 6, where brantley stepped on frieds foot, completely missed the bag, and was called safe?
From what I remember, that was the right call by the rulebook, and that's why Atlanta didn't challenge that call. If you go back, Walt Weiss was on the phone to check with the other coaches to see if they should challenge, and you can see Snitker look over, then signal play on to the umpires. I think the rule was that since Brantley didn't make a turn towards second, that even though he missed the bag, going past it made him safe. So if anything, it's a cruddy rule, but called correctly. And Fried went sicko mode after that anyway, so it all worked out haha
In that moment Galarraga showed us all what class and grace and temperance looks like. Joyce in return displayed great humility and genuine accountability and atonement. It was a transcendent outcome greater than a perfect game that we were all too blind with anger to see at the time.
9:24 I am a life-long Cleveland Indians fan and I'm sorry, but the "Imperfect Game" will go down in the annals of WORST of the worst. We were all pulling hard to see something so awesome as a perfect game, and Galerraga was robbed of it. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason as to how the runner was safe! But...I have to give umpire Jim Joyce phenomenal kudos because the very next game, he went up to Galarraga before the match and talked with him, shook hands and pat his shoulder. There were tears in his eyes. Galarraga after the "imperfect game" pretty much laughed it off. There was no bad blood, no insults, no complaints. His sportsmanship was incredible and uplifting. And...I guess that's how you play sports, folks. It's called "sportsmanship" for a reason. Maybe we can all learn from that. :D
And here at WYCSports we are sorry that you are a life-long Cleveland fan 😀- how did the Lofton, Baerga, Thome, Ramirez, Belle team not win?????? That lineup was insane!!!
@@WYCSports It was definitely Game 3 of the 1997 World Series that pretty much did it for me. How we let Florida get 14 runs - on our home turf. it just didn't make sense. We had come back to tie the series at 1. Coming home now with a chance to win the series at home. That 14-11 loss... that was just crazy. Allowing Florida SEVEN runs in the 9th...? I'll never understand that.
It's amazing how many involved the Braves on either side. Sure that 19th inning was stupid, but the Bravos (especially in the 90's) seemed to get royally screwed on a nightly basis.
They still get screwed frequently, especially on replay calls. A recent series for them against the Mets saw them get multiple calls overturned in outright ridiculous ways.
@@2005StangMan No question never does the Braves any good to challenge especially when they are in the right, Has to be as blatant as the Joyce call for them to get it. I can't remember the circumstance but there was a call that went the Braves way in the last couple weeks and Jeff Francoeur was laughing on the broadcast because he didn't expect the call to break for the Braves.
On that should-have-been-last-out-of-perfect-game, Cabrera actually made a great play - hard to his right, backhand, turned his body, got off a strong, accurate throw, leading his pitcher to the bag. If Joyce had called it right, this might have been the best fielding play ever made to make the last out of a PG.
Good on Jim Joyce for admitting his mistake and apologizing to Galarraga. If Angel Hernandez was the umpire in that game he probably would’ve tossed Galarraga for grinning after the call.
That's on the fans for never letting this go lol. Anyone who has ever umpired knows how hard a bang bang play can be. It was a bad call but you've eventually gotta let these go.
@@calhounhills860 But it didn't cost the Cardinals a World Series. There was no guarantee they would've scored a run, and maybe they should've showed up to Game 7.
@@1912RamblerFan01 I agree, Cardinal fans love to say this cost them the title, but they seem to forgot they laid down and rolled over in game 7. As aggravating as they are, bad calls are part of the game, and these guys are supposed to be pros. They should be able to get over it and come out fighting the next time, which they did not do. I never liked the 85 Cardinals, thought they were mostly a bunch of whiners, with a few exceptions. Yes, they got ripped off in that call, but instead of crying, though should have manned up and acted like champions.
I saw a virtually identical play to the Galarraga travesty in a minor league game once. This was for a regular old no-hitter though, and the play was a routine grounder to 2B. This was in 1992 and the pitcher's name was Rodney Steph. I'm not still bitter about this or anything.
Watching it live I thought it was brutal too. Looking back, I realize it’s technically the right call(infield fly is called once an infielder is beginning to camp underneath a pop fly). Though incredibly painful
As a brave fan I thought the call at first base in the Cardinals Royals World Series was a bad call too. At that time I was for the Cardinals because they were the national league team. I think St Louis was robbed of That World Series.
@@donaldmackerer9032 The rule specifies a pop fly or fly ball that can be caught by an infielder, it doesn’t need to be on the infield dirt/grass. It also says “with ordinary effort” which is at the umps discretion. I wouldn’t call it simply because of how far he has to go out for the ball, but it was called because he was able to drift and begin to camp underneath the ball. He then gave up on it🤦🏻♂️
Wasn't in MLB, but shout out to the umpires from the Mexican league that got a checked swing call wrong so badly that not only were they suspended, the two umpires *not* involved in it were given probation for not overruling it.
I remember Sam Holbrook calling that infield fly. The reason fans were so pissed was because we had momentum going, it was the single elimination game for the NL Wildcard, and it was also Chipper Jones' last game of his career. I thought the fans were absolutely in their right to show their frustration the way they did. So long as no one got hurt.
That’s Angel Hernandez for ya ! 😂😂😂 He’s so stupid he got that A’s Homer wrong with video proof . Dude shouldn’t even be allowed to sell hot dogs at a game let alone ump it !
seems that MLB did not want Atlanta to win back in the 90s. The umps helped the Twins win the 1991 world series, and helped the Yankees win the 96 world series several times.
@@breadandcircuses8127 the umps gifted the Yankees a home run in game 1 of the ALCS. it was actually fan interference which should have been ruled a double. In Game 4 of the world series, one of the umpires got in the way of a Braves player trying to catch a routine pop fly. That extended the inning and allowed the Yankees to get 2 free runs.
5:09 This is the worst call of them all right here. That was not a home run. I watched it live and thought the same then. This kid was treated like a rock star after this. Meanwhile poor Steve Bartman received death threats for his interference.
What do you expect from Yankee fans? And Rich Garcia has been involved in controversy involving the Yankees before, so no surprise. Nevertheless as much as I love my Orioles the better team won, period. I have to be objective az either way they would have found a way to beat us as they usually did in those days, plus Benitez was horrible, so yeah...
It's really a shame the cubs won a world series after what the Cubs fans did to that Bartman guy. How about your shitty club get's an out after that play? Nah, we'll just blame that guy cuz we're pos cub fans. Weak fuckers.
Bartman didn’t actually do anything. He was just the scapegoat. You wanna blame someone? Blame the actual Cubs team that committed a folly of errors: leaving in a tired pitcher, Gonzalez’s dropped double play, Prior’s wild pitch, Farnsworth failing to get the necessary 2 outs. Bartman did not lose this game for the Cubs, the Cubs lost it themselves. What made the situation go the way it did was the Fox broadcast focusing on the Bartman incident and not the comedy of errors on the field.
I watched a whole separate video digging into Jim Joyce/Galaraga, to say it was devastating is an understatement, both teams were royally pissed off, Jim Joyce almost got jumped by the crowd so many times when leaving, that game is just a black spot on MLB
@@Streaming_Music That's fine but 100 years from now, will they still be talking about it if it's not in the official record? They took a little bit of history away from that pitcher.
I agree with that, but then the following plate appearance would have to be excised from the records. Which can be done, but it adds to the messiness of the situation.
@@staringatthesun861 Official records, statistics, and standards are never written in stone and have been severely compromised in this century alone--especially in the aughts during the height of the Steroid Era. Also, long-standing postseason records will inevitably be eclipsed because more teams will be in the postseason, etc. Think of all the games that have been played in the modern era, and only 21 perfect games have been pitched...That blown call would have been overturned in a second under today's instant replay rules. Baseball needs to erase this mistake. I don't know anyone who would be against it.
I've always been confused by the color commentator in that clip. "It hits the rail, it goes up, then comes down" ? It's like he's describing the replay being reversed and advanced (so as to convincingly show the ball hitting the railing behind the wall).
@@drewizkoollikeicecre This was in the infancy of Instant Replay in baseball. They only had a small TV screen installed in a hallway to look at it, so they ended up sticking with the call on the field. With today's centralized replay, that's a home run 100 times out of 100.
You can't tell me a regular season game that ended with the same outcome, minus a personal achievement is worse than a 1st out in the 9th inning of a world series clinching game that cascaded out of control with the change in momentum.
I literally can't watch that Galaraga play. I always turn away whenever the play comes on. I'm not even a Tigers fan but to get screwed out of a perfect game makes me sick.
What's funny is that even with replay, the A's got screwed out of a home run call in Cleveland. Thankfully the replays have gotten a lot better over the years, and there's less past their prime umpires in the league
a few of them (the Jeffery Maier fan interference), the Kansas City - St Louis call at first, the perfect game, were not even close. How the umpires blew such obvious calls, I have no idea. Even live speed these were all obvious, and watching the replays, even more so. It is easy to second guess the umpires in all sports on 'close' calls, but some of the calls are not even close.
The Jeffery Maier one was especially confusing because it was a playoff game and there were umpires stationed in the outfield whose only job was get home run/fan interference calls right. He had ONE JOB
The announcers in the cheatin' jeff game are looking at the monitor as WE were, and STILL didn't see anything right away. Prob'ly half-guzzled. Remember when pompous Woody Hayes punched that kid after a turnover. EVERYBODY saw the buffoon hitting the kid, but only after 5-6 replays, they were forced to admit the senile old fart PUNCHED the player.
I was 10 living in Los Angeles and that call made me realize that life wasn’t fair, that fair had no meaning in the world, and that life will just go on. I was shattered.😕
@@TimCarter The only one of any significance that I recall is the non call on what was clearly a third strike before Tino Martinez hit that grand slam in Game 1 of the 98 World Series.
Yeah it was accepted Metropolitan stadium was playing games with the air conditioning. They even admitted it later on. The twins got away with cheating that whole series.
The 2009 ALCS Game 4 trifecta belongs in here somewhere, especially Tim McClellend's horrific 3rd base call which should have been a double play instead of 1 player safe because...well, only his eyes know. He was later quoted after the game as saying "I don't believe that replay."
@@elimarcus8627foolish baseball has a good vid on it and how there was no camera at the right angle or high enough quality to see if it was a tag, and honestly I think the ump made the right call
The single worst call I have ever seen came the year the Posey rule was implemented. A runner attempting to score was thrown out by such a wide margin that he came to a complete stop. The catcher walked over and tagged the runner on the chest. The umpire ruled that the runner was safe because the catcher had not given the runner a path to the plate.
It's pretty inaccurate though, from what I've seen. Basing calls on where the center of the ball is, not the edge, so many corner and edge strikes are just registering as balls.
@@quigonkenny uh yeah thats the point. You cant get an umpire screwing the game up by having the edge calls be different every batter and every game. You should see an average game and know a robot cannot be worse than a human. Seriously you think a human eye watching a ball come by at 90-100 mph can tell if it is in the zone or not? Thats like the police just guessing your speed and pulling you over instead of using a radar gun. "uh sir i think you were going over the speed limit, just guessing by my own judgement here."
@@zgaviation6481 I doubt that is accurate. Besides its the varying zones that end up deciding games sometimes. One missed call and you change the course of a game or series even.The idea is to have it consistent. The technology will progress to be much better than a human approximation.
Funny I just wrote that in response to the Braves fans moaning. Maddux used to get calls way off both sides of the plate. The guy was so good he didn't need that kind of help. Let alone the Stan Belinda no call after he threw a ball right down the middle of the plate in the 92 NLCS. Nah I'm not a bitter Pirate fan!!
There is absolutely no argument against replay review and robo-umps that makes sense. Humans make mistakes, it’s in our nature. Being angry about being proven wrong and having to reverse your own call is no excuse for not implementing them.
The ball was easily catchable by an infielder. The rule is "by an infielder", not "in the infield". The rule should probably give umpires some discretion to decide whether it was dropped on purpose, but as the rule is written, it's a correct call.
@@Jivvi if it was so easily caught by an infielder, then why did it drop between the infielder and outfielder? It was not an obvious case of infield fly rule because that is to protect the offensive team from an infielder deliberately dropping it and turning a quick double play. That was clearly 100% not the case in this egregious "outfield" fly rule call.
@@thundersnow93 because after the infielder settled _directly_ under the ball, he misjudged the trajectory and moved away from it. The call has to be made while the ball is still in the air, and it was. And at the time, it looked like he'd just stay right where he was and make an easy catch. You're right about the purpose of the rule, but unfortunately that isn't written into the rule. There should be something in it that allows umpires to make a judgement call about whether dropping the catch allowed a double play when there would've otherwise only been one out, and call it after the play. As it stands, they _have_ to make the call while the ball is in the air, preferably when it's at the peak of its flight. I agree that it's egregious, but it egregious because of the way the rule is written, not because of the call. It wasn't a fair call, but it was a correct call.
@@Jivvi Nope, not directly under it... alternating shaded (8 ft wide) lanes of green confirm his pivoted position. Ball landed in next lane over. If he misjudged the trajectory that's his fault, not the opponent. Judgement call for certain. With a no-call, none of us would be commenting here.
@@markcolby9019 "under", not "in the trajectory of". The ball was still moving. If he'd kept going in the same direction instead of going back the other way, he could have caught it easily. "Ordinary effort" is the only part of the rule that's a judgement call, but it applies when the ball is at its highest point, not when it lands. It would be much better if the umpires could call it after seeing what happens if the ball drops, but they can't. It's a terrible rule, but it was a correct call.
@@alanhess9306 Thats the point. Its a stupid, poorly written rule that has a clear, intuitive way it SHOULD work to anyone with at least 3 brain cells to rub together, it SHOULD say: Infielders foot touches outfield grass while in pursuit of the ball means its not an infield fly......I mean duh.........simple sensible rule everyone can immediately see and understand. Why does it not work like that? Because baseball? Yea great argument. I mean now we are out here giving free goddamn doubles in extra innings now so if we can mess up the game like that then surely we can fix the infield fly rule. Ill be here all week. Tell the commissioner Im free any time after 10 AM. I can solve all sorts of these stupid baseball problems practically in my sleep.
@@danr154 The only problem with the infield fly rule is that it is called the infield fly rule, so people who don't understand the rule think the ball must come down in the infield . The rule clearly states that if the ball COULD be caught by an infielder, the rule is in effect. There is nothing wrong with the rule, it does not need changing.
@@alanhess9306 there's a WHOLE lot of sac fly hits that COULD be caught be an infielder, especially with shifts in play. Would break the game if your interpretation of the rule is carried out objectively.
You've got to add Wilmer Flores being called out in the 9th inning of game 7of the playoffs against the Dodgers in 2021 for the most obvious checked swing I've ever seen.
Salvador Perez hits a deep fly ball to right center and Devil Hernandez called him out. The only thing is the ball bounced between the CF and RF. After the game Devil Hernandez said he was blinded by the scoreboard and guessed.
If you watch the replay of 4:28 it’s very easy to convince yourself that the call was absolutely correct because it’s bordering on impossible to say with any degree of certainty that McHenry didn’t miss that tag If you say it’s clear and obvious you’re either a liar or a Pirates fan
I remember watching some of that that Braves-Pirates 19-inning game on TV. They were still playing around 1:00 in the morning. I think the umpire just wanted to go home.
Very beginning of the video and Number 10: These and many other calls show that Angel Hernandez has absolutely no business being an MLB umpire. Number 1: I think we can all agree that Armando Galarraga threw the first ever 28 out perfect game in history Good video and list of terrible MLB calls.
Nothing wrong with a wide strike zone (makes the game go a little faster and it encourages players to swing more), but that zone was ridiculous. You can't be calling those pitches strikes, especially in a world series game
Even as a life-long Twins fan, I gotta say that Herbeck 100% meant to pull him off the base. “Momentum” my eye… that being said there were a number of calls from the ‘87 series game 7 on both sides that were pretty shocking too
@@tfypt yeah. That was I believe game 6 which totally changed the trajectory of the series. Also my braves threw Charlie effing Liebrant out there in relief in 6 and 7 and he lost both games for us. after giving up the Puckett walk off in game 6, when Cox brought him back out in game 7 I was incredulous. Sure enough, blew it again.
If Galarrraga had not displayed his sportsmanship the way he did because of the gentleman he is, it would have been a different story. I keep thinking that Jim Joyce did this on purpose to not allow a Venezuelan have a perfect game.
I think number four where the twins first baseman pulled Ron Gant off the bag should have been number two. The Cardinals first base call was a missed call but without replay it would have been hard to tell. The common denominator was that both calls were made by the American League umpire against national league teams. What were they thinking when they came up with that system?
What system? Until ~1999 the two leagues had more autonomy with each league having a league president who had actual authority and each league had its own umpires. Going forward the league presidents' powers were consolidated with the Commissioner and the umpiring rosters were combined to simply being MLB umpires. Given the separate umpire rosters, it only makes sense to have a split crew for the World Series.
Wowww, never seen the Livan Hernandez strikezone before.. each one makes me really angry, and the batters barely care when they’re rung up on a pitch 12 inches off the plate like what. Each of those would be an ejection in today’s game.
Those were the most blatant for me. I do remember Livan being a huge thing back then because of his story escaping Cuba, and MLB really, really, really wanted to hype him up. I think that's what happened here, he "struck out" like 15 Braves.
Ehhh I'm not so sure about the infield fly rule. From my knowledge it has to be in the infield or an easy play for an infielder to make. If it's not an absolute gimme then you don't call it. Next, the main reason its a bad call is that he is so far from the infield that even if he did try to get an easy double play it might have not worked.
@@Voltage-rs7op Nope, it doesn't have to be in the infield (and many infield fly rule calls are not). It just has to be less than 2 outs, 1st & 2nd occupied (3rd can be, but doesn't have to be), and a fly that is catchable (1) by an infielder, and (2) with "ordinary effort". That play clearly was catchable, but the confusion between the infielder and the outfielder caused neither to go for it. That doesn't mean it wasn't catchable with ordinary effort... the ump made the right call. It's not only not one of the worst calls... it's not even a bad call. It's a GOOD call... people who think it's a bad call don't know the rules.
@@mikelyons6104 Nope as well to you. Correct, it can be in the outfield. On the flip side, the pursuing SS was NOT going to catch this fly on this attempt. There was no confusion (miscommunication as many have stated). Better said the wrong fielder made the greater effort to but no avail. This fly was slightly more of an outfielders catch to secure, but Holliday foolishly gave up seeing how his teammate seemed determined to try to get there. True, I wouldn't put this play under the umbrella of "worst", but instead "most controversial."
@Mike Lyons first of all your definition of infield fly was the same as mine so why even say that? Second of all the confusion between the infielder and outfielder is what makes it not an infield fly. Even then what is the shortstop supposed to do to roll the cheap double play? Let it drop and then turn around pick up the ball and turn around again. Even if he does that there is no shot its a double play. If outfielder does the same thing then it doesn't matter because its not an infielder so no infield fly. Basically your point is invalid and a big waste of typing for typing your frikn essay that doesn't even make sense
2:53 "...disappointing from the fans at Turner field..." No, it's disappointing that the umpire made the wrong call. If you don't want to make fans angry, get the call right. 4:21 Nice job of including Eric Gregg's shameful performance. Top marks, excellent video.
