Pete Alonso is called out and replay doesn't overturn it, a breakdown
What Happened
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the New York Mets are leading the Miami Marlins by two runs. Mets first baseman Pete Alonso steps to the plate with two strikes. He puts the ball in play, and it's fielded by the Marlins' third baseman. The throw is made across the diamond, and after a dramatic pause, the first base umpire calls Alonso out. Alonso immediately protests the call, questioning the umpire. The image of Alonso's foot clearly off the bag goes viral on social media, with fans and analysts questioning how the call could stand upon review. The broadcast crew explains the rule that the ball is considered "caught" when it enters the glove, not when it hits the back of the mitt, which is the common perception. They note that Alonso's foot may have been off the base at the time the ball entered the glove, leading to the out call being upheld. The crew examines various camera angles, but they concede that there is no definitive proof one way or the other whether Alonso's foot was on the base when the ball entered the glove. They acknowledge that the rule, which they don't necessarily agree with, is the reason the call stood despite the visual evidence suggesting Alonso may have been safe. Manager Buck Showalter of the Mets comes out to discuss the call with the umpires, but the decision remains unchanged. Alonso dejectedly walks back to the Mets' dugout, visibly frustrated with the outcome. The final score remains Mets 2, Marlins 0, as the controversial call at first base stands. Fans and analysts continue to debate the merits of the rule and whether the umpires made the correct decision in this particular situation.
Why This Matters
Pete Alonso gets absolutely jobbed at first base with his foot visibly off the bag, but replay review somehow lets the call stand anyway. This is the kind of brutal, head-scratching umpire moment that makes baseball fans lose their minds on Twitter for days.
Over 529K people had to watch this travesty unfold, landing it at number 578 on the all-time Jomboy breakdown rankings.
Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Pete Alonso.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentMets are up by two versus the Marlins
two strikes on Alonso puts that in play
gobbled up over at third thrown across
and he
after the dramatic pause by the first
base umpire Alonzo walks back to the
Dugout stop says Buck Alonso says okay
all right why and this is the image that
everybody saw and that everybody tweeted
and everybody's talking about and I
probably made it the thumbnail because
this is the image right he's clearly
safe the foot is off the back upon
review the call in the field stands the
runner is out
[Applause]
wow wow what his foot's off the back how
could the call stand if anything you
thought it was gonna be overturned
because they confirmed it well the thing
that you need to remember about these
reviews and I don't agree with this
really but the rule is that it's
considered a catch when the ball enters
the glove not when the ball hits the
back of the mitt which is what you would
think it would be because usually they
used to always make that call on sound
so right there is actually the point
because the ball has entered the mitt
at which you need to see if his foot is
on the base or not and at this point is
his foot on the base
now they didn't say they confirmed the
call they just said it stood
what do you think now I don't know it
could very well be off the base but
as we slide then it comes off the base
there that's the that's the graphic and
the footage everyone was sharing and be
like how did they get this wrong but if
you go to the where it actually counts
and the fact that his foot slides off
there actually might lead you to believe
that it was on
there
which is when the ball counts according
to the rule again the rule that I don't
really like but that is how it stated
unless they changed it in recent years
that's once the ball enters the glove so
if you take a a look at the other
Vantage points we're looking at right
you know here is his foot on well no
idea there's just zero way to tell from
that one at all and then this is the
other one we have and the ball enters
right there and is his foot on
maybe maybe not it's definitely off
right there but that context tells us
nothing so that's why this call was uh
not confirmed nor overturned the call in
the field stands the runner is out
it just stands so whatever that dude
over at first base May who made the call
whatever this guy says right
here
that was gonna be the call