Umpire misses COSTLY foul ball call, a breakdown
What Happened
In a thrilling opening day matchup, the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers are tied 2-2 in the top of the ninth inning. Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim steps up to the plate against Cubs pitcher Joe Leclerc. On a 1-1 count, Leclerc delivers a changeup that Heim appears to foul tip. However, the umpire, Chad Fairchild, rules it a wild pitch, allowing the go-ahead run to score for the Cubs. Heim immediately protests the call, insisting to Fairchild that he tipped the ball. Replays clearly show the ball hitting Heim's bat, but Fairchild stands by his original ruling, stating he did not hear or see the foul tip. Despite Heim's pleas, the play is not reviewable, and the Cubs take a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, the Rangers pinch-hit Ezequiel Duran, who works a full count against Cubs closer David Robertson. On the 3-2 pitch, Duran crushes a game-tying solo home run to right field, sending the game to extra innings and sending the Rangers fans into a frenzy. In the bottom of the 10th with two outs and the bases loaded, Heim steps up to the plate again with a chance to be the hero. He takes two fastballs from Cubs pitcher Jeremiah Estrada before lining the third pitch into right field for a walk-off single, giving the Rangers a dramatic 4-3 victory on opening day. Despite the controversial umpiring decision earlier, the Rangers persevere and Heim redeems himself, going from "zero to hero" as puts it. "That's the storytelling that you write a script about. And it happened," exclaims. "Baseball is pretty fun sometimes.".
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentCubs and Rangers tied up at two in the top of the ninth inning.
The Cubs have two runs on.
This breakdown is brought to you by FUBO.
More on that later because we have an interesting situation here.
Strike one from LeClerc.
Nice pitch.
Then he goes change up foul ball, pass ball, wild pitch.
Heim says that.
Hey, hey, he tipped that.
He tipped that.
He tipped that.
Meanwhile, the runner goes to third, and he scores,
and that's the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning.
And Heim walks straight to the umpire, and he's like, yo, bro, he tipped that.
That's not what?
What?
What are you calling?
What do you mean he didn't tip that?
How could you not know?
Just really looking at Chad Fairchild trying to figure it out,
like what's going on?
Are we serious?
What?
Chad, I promise you it hit.
Nope, didn't hit.
Didn't hear anything.
Didn't hit.
It's a wild pitch.
Go-ahead run score.
Heim's like, I cannot believe this.
They go to replay, and it shows that.
Yes.
Yes.
He did tip it.
It went the other direction.
The spin changes a little bit.
It was a foul ball.
Only problem, this play is not reviewable.
MLB says, that one, nah.
You could just put a microphone by home plate, check for ticks on the audio.
You could watch the replay like we just did,
which clearly would have overturned it rather quickly.
MLB says, no, that play, that's not a reviewable play.
I have no idea why.
So they can't challenge it.
They can't do anything but just accept.
Accept the fact that it happened.
But they also can tell Heim, like, dude, you got to get that ball.
Look where the ball is.
The runner's rounding third.
He's not even looking at the ball.
Heads up.
Base running.
Like, you can protest the call while still getting the ball.
Want to know how I know that you can do that?
Salvi Perez did it on opening day as well.
He didn't like this.
He thought it might have hit him.
And as he's getting the ball, he's arguing with the umpire.
But he makes sure to go get that ball.
So, Heim.
A little bit on you as well.
But MLB, make those calls challengeable.
Umps are going to miss calls from time to time.
Let's not have the whole world be mad at them when there's a device that could help them out real quick.
Anyway, now the Cubs are up.
It's the bottom of the ninth.
Heim's upset.
It's all his fault.
It's all the ump's fault.
They pinch hit Janikowski.
And he says, I'm not swinging at that.
That's below the zone.
That one, below the zone as well.
Okay, fastball.
Clocked you.
Ooh, slider.
Throw that one again.
Ooh, wanted it.
Didn't get it.
3-2 pitch.
Gets the slider.
That time was sitting 3-2 slider.
Pinch hit.
Game time.
Home run.
And that fan caught the ball.
He is excited.
I'm excited.
Look at this pitch.
A little slider.
3-2.
Right in the zone.
Because it's 3-2.
He's got to be in the zone.
And he was sitting on it.
Usually sit fastball.
He knew that was coming.
The ball bounces around.
That guy's got a beer in his left hand.
So, he misses out.
This guy got it.
High five.
High five.
Let's go.
Heim's still upset.
That could have been the game winner.
That could have been the game winner.
Well, guess what?
Bottom of the 10th inning.
Two outs.
Base is loaded.
She's nervous.
Heim is at the plate.
He can be the hero.
He can get the game winner.
First pitch.
Fastball.
Oh, my.
Did he want that to be the one?
Okay, we're praying.
We're rocking.
We're nervous.
We're excited.
A little twinge of excitement there.
0-1.
One pitch.
Another fastball.
Same exact spot.
I don't like the pitch calling.
I like the result for the Rangers.
They win.
Opening day.
Walk off.
They persevere through the controversy.
Heim goes from zero to hero.
All is right in Texas.
Rangers win.
Astros lost.
Go Yanks.
Yeah, that's a fun story.
Opening day.
Way to go, Heim.
That's the storytelling that you write a script about.
And it happened.
It happened.
Baseball is pretty fun sometimes.
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