Joe Maddon protests the game because Sean Doolittle taps the ground in his delivery, a breakdown
What Happened
During a May 2019 game between the Cubs and Nationals, Chicago manager Joe Maddon formally protested over the toe tap Sean Doolittle uses in his delivery while the lefty was trying to close out a save. Maddon argued he'd been told the move was illegal, citing the rule against a pitcher taking a second step or resetting his pivot foot. The umpires huddled, said they didn't see anything illegal, and the protest stood with the official 'P' going into the books. The dispute traced back to an earlier warning Carl Edwards Jr. got about his own delivery, which made the Cubs hypersensitive to anything that looked similar.
Why This Matters
This is a great example of a manager weaponizing a rule he doesn't fully understand. The actual rule bars a pitcher from taking a second step toward the plate or resetting his pivot foot, and the whole argument hinges on what counts as a 'step.' A step means putting weight down and moving to a new position. Doolittle doesn't do that. He taps. If he tried to actually plant on that tap, he'd topple over. The Cubs were really litigating the Carl Edwards Jr. warning, where Edwards came to a full stop and planted before throwing, which is a different mechanic entirely. Protests almost never get upheld, and this one had no chance. Doolittle kept using the tap for years without further trouble, which tells you the league agreed there was nothing to it.
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Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Joe Maddon, Sean Doolittle. Teams: Angels, Nationals.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentThe Cubs and Madden protested this game
last night because of that little toe
tap by Doolittle who's trying to get the
save. Madden comes out. He says, "I was
told he can't do that. Can't come stop
his motion. Put his foot on the ground.
That's what I was told. It's not a
judgment call. It's no joke. I can't
tell. I'm trying to call strike on the
pitch." Well, ask your friends then.
Okay. Okay. Okay. I'll go ask them. He
goes and asks his friends. They say, "I
didn't see [ __ ] I don't think it's
illegal." So now he's watching like a
hawk. I'm going to get you dittle.
Little toe tap there.
He's protesting. I was told he can't do
that. So, I'm protesting right now.
Right now. This moment. That's it. Are
you mad at me, Joe? No, I'm not mad at
you. That I was just told he can't do
it. Dittle is getting a kick out of the
whole thing. It happened now twice.
That's what I was told.
He's mad. So, now the umpire, it's an
official protest. So, the umpire has to
write a capital P in the sky like a
Disney Channel commercial with the magic
wand. Opts for the capital P and he does
it backwards for the scorekeeper. That
was nice. This is what the Cubs are mad
at. Carl Edwards got told that his
delivery was illegal. Right there comes
to a full stop, plants his foot on the
ground and then pitches. Now, what is
the rule here? It is the pitcher may not
take a second step toward home plate
with either foot or otherwise reset his
pivot foot in his delivery of the pitch.
So it really comes down to what's a
step. What does MLB constitute a step in
their delivery? The real definition of
step is to lift and set down one's foot
or one foot after the other in order to
walk somewhere or move to a new
position. So to walk somewhere or move
to a new position, I think that means
you have to put weight down on it and
able to transfer your weight to a new
spot. Does Carl Edwards put weight down?
Who knows? You could. Does Dittle?
Absolutely not. If you tried to step
somewhere and did what Doolittle does,
you would fall on your face and look
like an idiot. There are definitely
different deliveries. There's nothing
that says touching the ground is
illegal. It says stepping on the ground
is illegal. And Doolittle doesn't step.
He just kind of taps. So, I don't think
Madden was mad at Doolittle. He's just
mad at the MLB rules, but I think he has
a misunderstanding of what the rule is.
Think he's a very good baseball manager,
but an annoying know-it-all.