Umpires lose track of the count during Ryan Howard’s at-bat (Video)

Expand instant replay! Expand instant replay! No, just kidding. Although I do think instant replay needs to be expanded and we need to make use of the technology we have at our disposal, the situation that arose during the Phillies win over the Reds on Thursday was just comical.

Ryan Howard nearly drew a three-ball walk in the top of the third. As you can see from the accelerated recap of his at-bat that CSN provided, Howard was thrown a ball on a 2-2 count and the home plate umpire awarded him first base. You could tell Howard was surprised when he looked back, but naturally he took the base. Reds pitcher Mike Leake also looked confused, and the umpires got together and eventually called Howard back. When I say eventually, I mean it took a few minutes to sort out.

For a while, it appeared that nobody knew the count. Perhaps everyone had just mentally checked out of the game since it was already 6-0 in the third. When I first saw the clip I thought we were heading for the first even fan appeal. That would have been a sight to behold.

Fist pound to The 700 Level