McCutchen out for running out of the baseline when he didn't, a breakdown
What Happened
In a tie game in the bottom of the seventh, the Phillies had a runner on first when Andrew McCutchen hit a slow squibber to Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor. Lindor chased it down and tried to tag McCutchen on the way to first, but McCutchen was originally ruled safe. Then the umpires reversed course and called him out for running outside the baseline to avoid the tag, killing a rally where Philadelphia should have had two on and one out. The call turned into an inning-ending situation, and the Phillies dugout, Bryce Harper especially, lost it.
Why This Matters
The baseline rule is one of the most misunderstood in baseball. A runner doesn't have a fixed lane between the bases. He establishes his own baseline based on his path to the bag, and he's only in violation if he deviates more than three feet from that line to avoid a tag. McCutchen ran straight, which is exactly why the call was wrong. The bigger problem is that baseline interference is a judgment call, so it can't be reviewed even when the replay clearly shows the runner never strayed. That's the maddening part for the Phillies, who lost a scoring chance in a one-run, late-inning spot with no recourse. Joe Girardi's frustration tied into a pattern he flagged early in 2021, calling it the second baffling call that April. For a team fighting in a tight NL East, free outs like this carry weight.
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Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Andrew McCutchen. Teams: Phillies.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentmets and phillies are tied up bottom
seventh but the phillies have a runner
on first they got
action happening alonzo says no let's
just turn to doo doo doo doo
2 0 pitch and that's exactly what they
get a little squib
to Lindor who chases cuts down doesn't
get the tag safe at first man they got
no outs
now the phillies are set up perfectly
they got two on
with only one out in a tie game but
lendore's running off the field and
cutch says what
they called him out they said he ran out
of the baseline and kutch is like
whoa are you talking hey look at my
footprints hey look at my footprints i
look at my footprints
and then girardi comes out and now
they're just going David crockett daniel
Boone on their ass just like
look at these footprints but look at
these footprints he came from this way
he was going that way he's probably
pretty close
the pooh's fresh and then girardi just
can't believe it i think i don't they
i heard this was a rookie umpire i'm not
positive baffling
really baffling we've had two calls this
april
that are just completely baffling now
you know the grass
doesn't really mean anything the base
runner establishes
his baseline and as long as he doesn't
deviate from the line that he
established he's fine so kutch
only runs in a straight line he never
that's where the tag would have been so
if there's any avoidance he ran in a
straight line
and then he went down for the slide and
he slid
in the vicinity of the bag like that
right foot
comes down it's not on the bag but it's
in the vicinity of the bag and that ump
says that he
went out of the baseline to avoid the
tag and then he was called safe at first
base
but he's out so the umps just completely
botched his whole play they
got nothing right they go to review they
cannot
review the baseline call because it's a
judgment call
which i never get why don't we just
watch the replays and make a new
judgment
since obviously that one seems faulty uh
and they say he was out at first base
and they can't review the other one
that's [ __ ] cut says so now it's the
inning ending double play
it's crazy and Bryce Harper's on the
bench just
screaming [ __ ] you
[ __ ] you that's terrible
you are too yeah yeah go
go that's [ __ ] hard terrible that's
horrible and then this guy's like i
think he's talking to me i think he's
talking about me oh my god that's bad
it's bad did i make a bad call yeah man
you made such a bad call