The Umpire is Always Right..

My college coach had two rules when we were playing games; rule number 1: the umpire is always right, and rule number 2: when in doubt, revert back to rule number 1.

Tuesday night the Braves and Pirates got tangled up in, quite possibly, the best game of the year so far, in the major leagues. Each team put up three runs by the end of the third inning, and then the stalemate began. By the end of the second game, yes second game, they played 19 innings, there was still a 3-3 tie.  Finally, in the bottom of the 19^th inning the Braves put together a scoring threat after almost seven hours of play.

This is where it get’s juicy. The Braves had Julio Lugo on third with less than two outs and Lugo tried to score on a ground ball to third. The throw came home, the catcher got the ball three steps before Lugo made it home, clearly he was going to be out, and this game was going to continue on into the morning. But, no. Umpire Jerry Meals didn’t see it that way. Michael McKenry swiped the tag across Lugo and was stunned when Meals waved his arms saying safe.

The Braves were joyous for pulling out the marathon win, and the Pirates were distraught, bewildered, befuddled. This picture clearly shows the tag was made on Lugo’s shin. But watching the replay in real time there is enough doubt that could have overcame Meals to make the safe call, albeit diminutive. Of course the internet world blew up, this was just another example of why baseball needs replay, Meals should be fired, blah, blah, blah.

Bloggers went goo-goo over this blown call. ESPN blogger DavidSchoenfield  said it was the saddest call he’s everseen. Darren Rovell, sports business guru, tweeted that baseball needs bases that light up green for safe and red for out. Cries for replay littered the Twitter feeds.

I, in no way, shape, or form, will ever argue for having instant replay in baseball. The umpires are HUMAN! And to Meals’ credit he cameout after the game and said, “"I saw the tag, but he looked like he oléd him and I called him safe for that," Meals said. "I looked at the replays and it appeared he might have got him on the shin area. I'm guessing he might have got him, but when I was out there when it happened I didn't see a tag.” Admitting that the replay showed a tag, but it was what he said after this that is striking to me, “"I just saw the glove sweep up. I didn't see the glove hit his leg."

You can blame Meals all you want for having to make a bang-bang call on the fly. It is easy to watch a slow motion replay and say that was easy. But the problem I have with all of this is that the Pirates catcher, Michael McKenry, was out of position and didn’t even use proper technique! Look at the picture! Why is McKenry 3 feet in front of home plate and making a sweep tag? All he has to do is catch the ball and sit on the plate and Lugo is out. The throw was a good throw, and using a sweep tag created enough doubt in the umpire’s mind to think the runner wasn’t tagged. The runner has to touch home plate, why the catcher strayed so far away from there is what I do not understand.  

Another disclaimer: I am not putting all of the blame on the catcher, being a former baseball player I know how it gets when you’re in a pressure situation where the game is on the line. I am just simply playing devil’s advocate with those out there who think that the umpire cost the Pirates the game. Sure this play happened to end the game, but the game was decided long before this play. No mention of the fact that the Pirates left 16 runners stranded on base, or left a runner on third with one out in the tenth. And those are just a few examples. After six hours and thirty-nine minutes of baseball it’s no wonder the umpire made a lapse in judgment, it was past his bedtime!

Lost in all of this is the amazing performance that the bullpens made. Both bullpens combined for 26 scoreless innings. The Braves tied the game in the bottom of the 3^rd inning and that was the last either team scored until the 19^th! This is the reason I love baseball, there is no time limit, mistakes are magnified in close games, and all umpires are different. The beauty of baseball is that no umpire has the same strike zone; the beauty is in the unwritten rules: tie goes to the runner, if he throws it on 2-2 he’ll throw it on 3-2, never make the 1^st or 3^rd outs at third base. The intricacies of the game are what makes it great. Taking away the human element of the umpires would degrade the game to the point where it would feel like you were watching a video game.

The funny part about the replay discussion in baseball is that it only rears its ugly head about two or three times a year. Meaning, 97% of the time the umpires are pretty darn good! And players understand, more so than the fans, that for every one call that gets missed there are 100 calls they get right. The reason players learn to deal with bad calls and move on is because of the golden rule of baseball, something you learn, or should learn at least, at a very young age. The umpire is always right!