The Braves and Pirates had a 19 inning affair last night, one that possibly could have gone on a lot longer had it not been for the very controversial call at home featured in the video above.
With Braves relief pitcher Scott Proctor at-bat with runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, Proctor hit a ground ball to Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez fielded the ball and came home with it and his throw easily beat the Braves’ Julio Lugo to the plate.
Lugo tried to avoid the tag from catcher Mike McKenry with a pop-up slide. From the replays, it looks as if McKenry made the tag, but the home plate umpire called Lugo safe.
And just like that, it was over. A game that had seen no scoring since the third inning, a game more than double the length of a regulation game, a game teetering on the brink of history…was over with one bad call. What a shame.
I hate to beat a dead horse, but plays like this are exactly why baseball needs more instant replay review. They can review boundary home run calls because those can have an effect on the outcome of a game, but apparently plays at the plate in extra innings have no effect whatsoever. It just doesn’t make any sense.
Someone in the league office needs to wake up and realize that the system is flawed before they screw over anyone else. Because last night the Pirates weren’t the only ones to get screwed, all of us as fans got screwed as well, as we were robbed of the chance to see an epic (and possibly historic) game end on an legitimate play.
