Worst Umpire Calls in the 2010 MLB Playoffs (Part 1)
When the 2010 postseason comes to mind, most people do not think about Roy Halladay’s brilliant pitching or Rick Ankiel hitting his first ever postseason home run into McCoy Cove. What comes to mind is the umpiring. Granted, umpiring is a tough job, and
mistakes can be made, but October had a great deal of incompetence from the umpires, which were the verdict of a game winning, or losing, play. So in descending order, to the worst, is an overview of the worst umpire calls of the 2010 playoffs.
The first in a list of the worst umpire calls took place during Game 1 of the ALCS, with the New York Yankees against the Minnesota Twins. In the 9th with two outs, Yankee right fielder Greg Golson makes the game ending catch, but the umpires
ruled it as a trap. A trap is when the fielder catches the ball after it bounced once on the turf, usually such a small bounce that it can only be verified using video replays. In reality, the catch was not a trap. The game went on, and even though the Yankees
won, the game should have ended on that catch.
The next incorrect ruling on the list of the worst took place during Game 6, with the Yankees against the Texas Rangers. On a pitch, Yankees batter Nick Swisher was hit by a ball, which should have made it dead. But the umpire didn’t see it that way. The
ball got away from catcher Bengie Molina and rolled to the backstop, allowing Alex Rodriguez to run home from third base. This bogus call gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the most important game, for both teams, of the series.
Game 1 of the Rangers versus the Tampa Bay Rays features the next bungling call. Carlos Pena was up to bat in the first inning with two outs. With the bases loaded, Rangers pitcher Cliff Lee pitched to Pena and seemed to hit him on the hand with the ball.
Pena, along with manager Joe Maddon, exclaimed that the ball hit him, but the umpire, Tim Welke, didn’t see that. He called it a foul ball. If he had gotten the call right, Pena would have walked, thus forcing a run, which could have changed the outcome of
the game. The Rangers went on to win, 5-1.
Another unskilled ruling was during Game 2 of the Rangers against the Rays. In the fifth inning with one out, Michael Young checked his swing, as seen by the umpire. But replays show that his swing wasn’t checked at all. That swing should have been ruled
a third strike, which would put Young out, but was called as a ball instead. On his next swing, Young hit to bring the Rangers three more runs, thus burying the Rays for good, putting them up 5-0. However, the Rangers already had a 2-0 lead and had a 77 percent
chance of being victorious even before the unfair ruling.
Game 3 of the Atlanta Braves against the San Francisco Giants features another bad call by the umpires. In the ninth inning, with no outs, Jason Heyward patiently watched five pitches go by him, only one of which was a strike, according to replays. Instead
of getting a walk, the umpire called a third strike off of a fastball that should have been a ball. After Heyward was called out, the remaining two batters also went down to lose Game 3.
Another blunder by the umpire was in Game 2 of the Yankees versus Twins in the seventh inning with one out. Twins pitcher Carl Pavano pitched an obvious strike three to batter Lance Berkman, but the umpire called it a ball. On the next pitch, Berkman hit
a double to allow Jorge Posada to score, giving the Yankees a lead 3-2. The Twins never managed to work back up after that and were one game from elimination after this one.
The remaining calls will be discussed in the next article.
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