During the sixth inning of the first game of the Red Sox-Yankees double-header on Saturday, David Ortiz was doubled off at first base after Andruw Jones made a nice catch in the left field corner on an Adrian Gonzalez fly ball. The relay throw to Mark Teixeira came in high and pulled him off the bag, but the umpire ruled that his foot was still touching it when he caught the ball. As expected, most of Fenway Park booed the call. The scoreboard operator then chose to — gasp — show the replay.
The replay revealed that it was a bang-bang play that probably could have gone either way. Naturally, Red Sox fans booed even louder. According to ESPNBoston.com, the MLB called the Red Sox to scold them for violating the league’s policy on not showing replays of close calls. Allowing fans to see a close call a second time could “incite the crowd.” More importantly, it might serve as a form of accountability for the guys in blue.
What’s even more sad is that the umpires reportedly called the league office between innings to complain, which is what inspired the league to call the Red Sox. Coincidentally, I happened to be in attendance and sitting in center field during this game. After the replay was shown the fans became a little restless, but I’ve seen more aggression displayed in a shuffleboard tournament at retirement community in Florida. We know Bud Selig is against instant replay because attendance is good, but is this really a huge deal? I can understand not showing a major blown call like this one — even though I still don’t think it would incite a riot — but a slap on the wrist seems unnecessary in this particular situation.
H/T Hardball Talk
