Umpires Get Replay Wrong in Oakland and Tampa Bay Game, a breakdown
What Happened
In the top of the seventh inning of a close game between the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays, with the A's leading 2-1, there are two outs and a runner on first base. Tampa Bay's Joey Wendle hits a pop-up to third base that he initially calls for, but then loses track of in the white roof of the stadium. The ball drops to the ground and the umpire calls the runner at home plate out. Oakland manager Bob Melvin immediately disputes the call, believing the runner, Vimael Machín, was safe. The umpires decide to review the play using instant replay. As the replay is examined, the commentators point out clear evidence that Machín's hand reached the plate before the tag was applied. They note the lack of any visible wrinkles on Machín's jersey, indicating the tag did not make contact. Despite this seemingly conclusive evidence, the umpires in New York reviewing the replay ultimately uphold the out call on the field. Melvin storms out of the dugout, furious at the missed call and the failure of the replay system to correct it. He argues passionately with the umpire, who explains that the decision came from the replay center in New York, not his own judgment. "You missed that call and now this," Melvin tells the umpire, exasperated. The umpire responds, "Why are you so mad at me? It's MLB. The replay center said it." Melvin's frustration highlights the perceived flaws in MLB's replay review process, where umpires on the field are shielded from criticism and the centralized replay officials in New York are not held accountable for obvious mistakes. The commentator notes that the system is "built in a way where the umpires just don't have to answer any call" and that "even with blatant evidence that it's wrong, they won't overturn it." As the game continues, the Athletics and Rays players can only shake their heads at the missed call, knowing that the outcome has been unfairly influenced by the umpiring crew's failure to correctly apply the replay review. The moment underscores the ongoing debate surrounding the use of technology in baseball and the need for greater accountability and transparency in the officiating process.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentmlb botched another replay how about
that
top of seventh a's are up two to one on
the rays
in the trap there's two outs runner on
first a little pop up to third base joey
wendell tracks backwards says i got it i
got it i got it never mind
i lost it in the white roof we have at
our professional baseball stadium
play at the plate and the um says you're
out it says what
oh i don't know about that one blue i
think i was safe
they stand up he says uh probably gonna
check the replay and see he didn't touch
my arm so they checked the replay
and they're checking the replay and
these guys say hey hey friends don't
make us look
stupid here okay here's the replay
all right two things you got to look for
when the glove touches the jersey you
see wrinkles so everyone just look at
the glove on the jersey right now
no wrinkles no sign of contact there's
maybe your first wrinkle
and there's your no there's your first
wrinkle
and this is your definitive right there
see the jersey and the glove
definitive that at this moment
he touched him everything else
the jersey doesn't move i'm sure if we
had another angle
pretty safe to say he didn't touch him
let's see when the hand
touches the plate uh it is
right there
uh for sure there and
no wrinkle on the jersey yet and there's
when he touches the jersey
i don't know man i just don't get it
like obviously
if you're like not a human being like if
you're a robot without a brain
maybe you're like i don't know we can't
tell although we need to go wrangle to
make sure but
any human being can tell that that's
safe
he crossed home play with his hand
before the glove touched his jersey
and why don't they have more angles rays
a's get more camera crews
so they see it and they celebrate but
then the umps see it and they say
nope he's out oh no bob melvin comes
running out of the dugout because he's
pissed off because he saw he says you
missed that call
and now this something goes why are you
so mad at me
it's mlb the replay center said it and
mlb has built in this great system where
the umpires just
no one can get yelled at now because
this dude made the wrong call
on the field but he called his buddies
in new york
and they said no you know what he made
the right call but we can't
the mlb managers can't yell at the
replay center in new york
they can only yell at the people on the
field but now if they yell on the people
on the field they're like it wasn't my
calls the replay center's like dude it
was your call
because of your call they won't overturn
it because you guys all just stick up
for each other it's blatant
they've just built this system where
umpires just
just even further don't have to answer
any call they just whatever so melvin's
mad at him and now this um says shoo
shoo melvin says shoot you you get out
of here and that's basically the end of
it like that's how it works
makes the wrong call in the field
manager says oh this is great we have a
replay system so i can challenge the
call in the field they replay it
blatant evidence that it's wrong and
then the crew in new york says yeah
no only 99.9 evidence that this is wrong
and we need 100
and then you can't yell at anyone it's
such a stupid system