2011 World Series Game 3: Why MLB Needs Replay Review (Again)

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Mike Napoli of the Texas Rangers argues a call with first base umpire Ron Kulpa after Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals is called safe after a tag in the fourth inning during Game 3 of the MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on October 22, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Oct 23, 2011 - Most of today's day-after recaps of Game 3 of the 2011 World Series are going to be all Albert Pujols.

That's all well and good, since Pujols arguably had the greatest game of anyone in World Series history. But I'm here to talk about the blown call in the fourth inning that may have set up that amazing game.

You've all seen it, and probably dozens of times, but it merits another look:

Matt Holliday is out. It's not close. Mike Napoli grabbed a bad relay throw by Ian Kinsler and tagged Holliday on his back a good half-step or more before Holliday touched first base. Out.

It is, of course, impossible to know exactly what would have happened in the game had that call been made correctly by first base umpire Ron Kulpa. (Let's get the puns out of the way right now, incidentally: "He was Kulpa-ble"; "He needs to issue a mea Kulpa"... I'm done.)

That would have been the second out of a double play. At the time, the score was 1-0 Cardinals on Allen Craig's first-inning home run; Rangers starter Matt Harrison had allowed three other baserunners (a first-inning single by Holliday, Ryan Theriot reaching on an error, and a single by Pujols, who was out on what should have been the first out of that double play). The ball hit by Holliday was Harrison's 51st pitch -- a little bit of a high pitch count for the top of the fourth inning, but not extraordinarily so.

There would have been two out and no one on base with the right call. To me, it seems likely that Harrison would have gotten out of the inning unscathed; instead, the blown call appeared to rattle him and the rest of the Rangers. The next five Cardinals reached base and four runs scored in the inning; there was another error made, by Napoli, and 22 pitches later Harrison's work for the evening was done. No one in the Rangers' bullpen could get Pujols out, nor most anyone else; Texas relievers gave up nine hits, five walks and 11 runs, all but one of them earned.

As I said, no one knows what would have happened if the right call had been made. But why do we even have to talk about this? I have written multiple times about blown calls since the summer of 2010, and just two days ago, in a long interview, Bud Selig said that new uses of replay review may be coming:

MLB is planning to add "small things" to video review, perhaps limited to fair/foul calls down the lines.

"Small things"? Just fair/foul calls? It would seem to me that safe/out would be a far more important choice; if the commissioner were really serious about this, he could institute it right now. There are a couple dozen high definition cameras shooting multiple angles of every play. Add another umpire to the crew, put him in the press box and give him some replay monitors. If there's a call like this, the crew on the field can call time and ask for booth help. Saturday night's game took over four hours as it was; what's an extra two or three minutes to get the call right?

Maybe Albert Pujols would have had his monster game and the Cardinals would have won by nine runs anyway, if Holliday had been correctly called out.

Or maybe they wouldn't. We'll never know, because MLB refuses to join the rest of the North American major professional sports and review close calls like this one.

The results of the game should reflect what the players actually do on the field. Use review. Get the calls right.

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Al Yellon

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Al Yellon is a Cubs fan. For that, he hopes you will indulge him. He's seen Cubs failures since 1969, including the agonizingly close playoff misses in 1984 and 2003. For that, at least a bit of... Read full bio

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Comments

Amen

Absurd that a championship could come down to something like this. If they win, the Cardinals’ rings should be crafted in the shape of an asterisk.

by dmelody on Oct 23, 2011 11:48 AM EDT reply actions

All I can say is that I'm just glad it was the Rangers and not the Cubs.

Still, it was a bad call and I would have instant replay on ALL questionable calls.

by jeffmills1972 on Oct 23, 2011 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I'd say that's a bit extreme

It’s obviously debatable, but did this single call lose the game for the Rangers? Maybe, maybe not, but to say that the entire series hinged on this call is preposterous.

Besides, remember 1985? They deserve one back anyway :p

by hr on Oct 23, 2011 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions

It's not really debatable

If the Cardinals win by 1 to 4 runs it’s debatable. This was a rout. Cardinals deserved that win 100%.

by jibbers on Oct 23, 2011 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes, but...

… the question I raised, I believe, is valid: if the DP is completed, does Harrison then get out of the inning and it stays 1-0?

I think that rattled the Rangers to the point that their pitching staff blew up. I can’t prove that, of course, but it’s my opinion that very well could have happened.

We’ll never know for sure, which is why it’s so important to get these calls right, so that the results on the field reflect what the players actually did.

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by Al Yellon on Oct 23, 2011 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions

What are you basing your statement on? Do you believe that all events in a baseball game are predetermined, and would have happened exactly as they did regardless of whether the correct call was made on that tag play? For all we know, the game would have been 1-1 after 9 innings if the call had been correctly made.

To say the call didn’t matter “because the cardinals won by more than 4 runs” is just ridiculous. Obviously every pitch would have been different from that point onward. I am not sure why sports fans have difficulty with this concept. You can’t look at a first quarter touchdown in a football game that ends up 49-45, and say, “See, if not for that blown touchdown call, the losing team would have won 52-49.”

Similarly, you can’t look at a blown call early in the game and say, “Okay, take away those 4 runs and the cardinals still win 12-7.”

by PentePro on Oct 23, 2011 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

My point exactly.

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by Al Yellon on Oct 23, 2011 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Someone on another site made the same argument that Jibbers made (that the blown call is irrelevant since the cardinals won by more than 4 runs). I don’t understand why people think that way.

The two most prevalent arguments opposing increased use of replay are:

1. “we’ve always done it this way, so we should keep doing it that way” and

2. “If we expand replay, then next thing you know, ____________ will happen” (fill in the blank with some horrible undesirable outcome such as 6-hour games or robots calling balls and strikes or robots playing the game entirely without humans, etc.)

Of course, both arguments are clear fallacies, but that does not stop people from reciting them over and over.

by PentePro on Oct 23, 2011 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Sadly, even the Catholic Church is more progressive than baseball.

by j reed on Oct 23, 2011 7:22 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree 100 %.

Get the calls right. This is ridiculous.

Dear Great Pumpkin, I am looking forward to your arrival on Halloween Night. I hope you will bring me lots of presents.

by katie casey on Oct 23, 2011 2:08 PM EDT reply actions

Also...

… these kinds of calls seem to follow Matt Holliday around. The Padres are still waiting for him to touch the plate.

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by Al Yellon on Oct 23, 2011 6:11 PM EDT reply actions

Jerry Meals was on an umpiring crew in the post season.
That tells me in no time soon will baseball change it’s “But the robots will win” policy on technology assisted umpiring.

by j reed on Oct 23, 2011 7:20 PM EDT reply actions

One thing I've not heard anyone else say.

One of Fox’s replay’s showed the home plate umpire getting a good look at the play as well. I didn’t look to me like his view was blocked. When it happened I couldn’t understand why he didn’t help out the first base umpire and make the right call.

When they start the game, they don't yell, "Work ball." They say, "Play ball." ~Willie Stargell, 1981

by high heat on Oct 23, 2011 10:18 PM EDT reply actions