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19th inning last night Pirates-Braves.

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Is a missed safe-out-call on which the entire game hinged really any worse than the call last year that cost a pitcher a perfect game? Pretty big, but I'm not so sure it's any worse than that. And it's probably no worse than the blown forward-lateral non-call that went in Tennessee's favor.

I could see how the home plate ump could call it a missed tag. There are far far worse examples out there, ranging from Joyce's blown perfect game call to the Hrbek non-call and Red Sox plate interference non-call that impacted World Series games...

But for me the worst call ever was the Brett Hull in-the-crease non-call in triple-OT game 6 that enabled the Dallas Stars to beat the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999 Stanley Cup finals...

Of course, there's also the "tuck rule" playoff game, the '72 Olympic basketball final, Michael Jordan shoving Byron Russell out of the way in the '98 NBA finals, etc. etc. etc.

Rob Iola wrote:I could see how the home plate ump could call it a missed tag.

No way. A missed tag is when the catcher has to move and the guy makes a great slide. When the guy is dead to rights and simply slides into the tag... he's out 100% of the time whether the glove gets him or not. He was out by a mile and surrendered.

Rob Iola wrote: the '72 Olympic basketball final

Nothing could surpass this.

I watched it about 10 times....I know that most times the ump gives the defense the call there on a swipe tag, but it appeared to me that he DID actually miss him. Sucks to end a game that way, but I think the ump actually got it right.

89Hen wrote:

Rob Iola wrote:I could see how the home plate ump could call it a missed tag.

No way. A missed tag is when the catcher has to move and the guy makes a great slide. When the guy is dead to rights and simply slides into the tag... he's out 100% of the time whether the glove gets him or not. He was out by a mile and surrendered.

I mostly agree. What was funny about the play is that Lugo didn't even touch home plate until was called safe. He thought he was out, but then the ump ruled him safe, so he reached out and touched home.

Rob Iola wrote:But for me the worst call ever was the Brett Hull in-the-crease non-call in triple-OT game 6 that enabled the Dallas Stars to beat the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999 Stanley Cup finals..

BTW, that was not a blown call.

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89Hen wrote:

Rob Iola wrote:I could see how the home plate ump could call it a missed tag.

No way. A missed tag is when the catcher has to move and the guy makes a great slide. When the guy is dead to rights and simply slides into the tag... he's out 100% of the time whether the glove gets him or not. He was out by a mile and surrendered.

Lugo did NOT surrender - he slid through the tag and touched the plate (on the hop with his right foot), then touched it again after the ump made the safe call.

89Hen wrote:

Rob Iola wrote:But for me the worst call ever was the Brett Hull in-the-crease non-call in triple-OT game 6 that enabled the Dallas Stars to beat the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999 Stanley Cup finals..

BTW, that was not a blown call.

[youtube][/youtube]

If your baseball argument is that "it's the way it's always been called", then if you recall in 1999 the crease call nullified virtually every goal that was scored when someone had their skate in the crease, regardless of what happened leading up to the goal...

AZGrizFan wrote:I watched it about 10 times....I know that most times the ump gives the defense the call there on a swipe tag, but it appeared to me that he DID actually miss him. Sucks to end a game that way, but I think the ump actually got it right.

This is what I got from watching the different angles.

I would put this above the Joyce call simply because the Joyce call didn't affect the outcome of the game,

That was a bad one, but the 1985 Don Denkinger World Series Special tops my list.

Rob Iola wrote:Lugo did NOT surrender - he slid through the tag and touched the plate (on the hop with his right foot), then touched it again after the ump made the safe call.

We will have to agree to disagree. He even put his hands up in front of his body.

This is a surrender.

Rob Iola wrote:If your baseball argument is that "it's the way it's always been called", then if you recall in 1999 the crease call nullified virtually every goal that was scored when someone had their skate in the crease, regardless of what happened leading up to the goal...

I get it... you're a Sabres and Braves fan.

Maybe the ump was tired and wanted to go home.

89Hen wrote:This is a surrender.

It's also a fucking tag. No way in hell the catcher missed him as some others have stated.

It was a very bad call, but not the worst ever. Sorry for the Pirates the game had to end that way, but as a Braves fan I'll live with it...

The worst call ever was by Lee MacPhail when he overruled the correct on-the-field ruling by the umpires who, faithfully applying the rule as drafted, call George Brett out for using an illegal bat in the "Pine Tar Game."

The rule book is pretty clear. An illegal bat is, among other things, a bat in which pine tar exceeded 18 inches from the bat handle, and the penalty for using an illegal bat is that the batter is out.

If you don't like the rule, change it. But it was an unconscionable betrayal for MacPhail, the AL president, to throw the umps under the bus like that in such a public fashion.

The funny thing is they never changed the rule. They just ignore it now.

dbackjon wrote:I would put this above the Joyce call simply because the Joyce call didn't affect the outcome of the game,

but it affected a piece of baseball history. this game last nite was just a game in July... no big deal... if it was a playoff game, than perhaps I would feel differently.... Aside from that, I aint convinced the guy was out...

UNHWildCats wrote:

dbackjon wrote:I would put this above the Joyce call simply because the Joyce call didn't affect the outcome of the game,

but it affected a piece of baseball history. this game last nite was just a game in July... no big deal... if it was a playoff game, than perhaps I would feel differently.... Aside from that, I aint convinced the guy was out...

Sorry, but baseball history is secondary to a playoff race.

89Hen wrote:This is a surrender.

Oh c'mon - surrender in baseball is quitting the play before reaching the base in the belief that you're out - if you leave the basepath the ump will call you out even if you're not tagged or otherwise put out. It has nothing to do with sliding, and the fact that Lugo clearly made it to the plate means he had no such intention.

89Hen wrote:

Rob Iola wrote:If your baseball argument is that "it's the way it's always been called", then if you recall in 1999 the crease call nullified virtually every goal that was scored when someone had their skate in the crease, regardless of what happened leading up to the goal...

I get it... you're a Sabres and Braves fan.

Nah, I'm a Mets fan - can't stand the Braves, especially not after the '97 Eric Gregg mile-wide strikezone game. But I am a recovering umpire (little league), and I've been where that ump is standing. He totally blew the call, but you can see a) his mechanics (proper positioning), and b) his reasoning (missed the tag). Of course, the "correct" call is obviously "OUT!", but not coupled with even if the catcher missed the tag - hence my irritation...

BTW, THIS is the worst blown call ever.