Major League Baseball rejects Philadelphia Phillies protest – MLB News
Joe Torre, Executive Vice President for baseball operations in Major League Baseball, announced on Wednesday, September 7 that a protest filled by the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, regarding fan interference and a call against the team was rejected. The
decision came through a statement issued by the sport body.
The Phillies filed the protest on Sunday, September 4. Philadelphia and the Florida Marlins were locked in a fixture that day and the bout ended in a 14th inning walk off defeat for the Phillies. Mike Cameron led in a walk off RBI to end the game
5-4.
The controversy came a bit earlier in the game when Hunter Pence drove the ball deep towards right-field for the Phillies. Florida outfielder, Bryan Petersen followed the ball well and jumped against the outfield wall to catch the ball. He was unfortunately
distracted by a fan who tried to catch the ball with his cap. Crew Chief Joe West was called in by managers from both sides.
The official elected to go for the replay. Pence was eventually called out and a double was cancelled, subsequently.
"I had two managers on the field," West said during the game. "One of them was arguing that they wanted an out, and the other was arguing that he wanted a home run. Because they wanted me to go look, because they wanted a home run, I got to judge whether
it went over the fence or not."
Phillies’ manager, Charlie Manuel, was ejected from the game that day and he was not pleased with the decision.
"They called it in play for a double," said Manuel. "I thought that they wanted to review it to see if it was a home run."
Manuel believes that the defensive play does not become a factor even when one tends to look at the call and evaluate it as a home-run or a double play. It will be interesting to see how the Phillies and the fans take the news of their request getting rejected.
It seems that the video replay may become a controversial element during the postseason.
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