In last night’s Athletics-Indians game, the A’s trailed by one run with two outs in the ninth inning.
Up came shortstop Adam Rosales to face Indians closer Chris Perez.
On a 1-1 pitch, Rosales blasted a 93 mile per hour fastball to left center field for a game tying home run.
Only the umps didn’t see it that way. They ruled the ball had hit the outfield wall, giving Rosales a double.
After a brief protest from A’s manager Bob Melvin, the umpire crew headed for the replay room to make sure of their call.
Replays definitively showed the ball had indeed been a home run, hitting a rail in the stands several feet above the outfield wall, and had bounced back in.
Pretty clear on replays, pretty obvious call.
Only umpire chief Angel Hernandez got it wrong and somehow did not see the ball blatantly bounce off of the railing and stuck with the initial ruling, costing the A’s a game-tying home run and ultimately the game.
What a joke. Replay is supposed to offer a chance to reverse blown calls and take out a bit of the “human element” A.K.A. “human error” on important, close calls. Not so with Mr. Hernandez, who has a history of trying to make the game more about himself than the teams on the field.
This one wasn’t even a judgment call, it was in his face that he should reverse the call and he didn’t.
Watch the whole ordeal here.