It’s the top of the seventh inning in game six of the 2019 World Series with the Washington Nationals leading the Houston Astros 3-2. Yan Gomes starts the inning off with a single. Trea Turner hits what amounts to a swinging bunt fielded by Brad Peacock who makes an offline throw to Yuli Gurriel seemingly putting runners on second and third with no outs. Sam Holbrook who was behind the plate calls interference.
Meaning that Turner got called out and Gomes got sent back to third base. The call then got sent to the replay center and the call on the field of interference got confirmed even though it took nearly five minutes to review.
The call itself by Holbrook is one of the worst in World Series history. This was not a close play, Turner beat the throw to first to begin win, stayed in his lane, and the only reason Gurriel needed to reach for the baseball was due to the poor throw by Peacock. Common sense indicates that’s not interference.
A current MLB umpire named Matt Norlander tweeted this about the call.
Well, that will instantly go down as one of the worst umpiring calls in the history of the World Series.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) October 30, 2019
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Other responses include:
Trea Turner was called out on this play.
“That’s a potentially series changing call.” – Joe @Buck pic.twitter.com/E3Po7hSNcR
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 30, 2019
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Here’s the biggest problem with that call: If Brad Peacock doesn’t make a bad throw to first base, Yuli Gurriel isn’t stretched into the baseline. If he’s not stretched into the baseline, Trea Turner doesn’t run into him.
So … you penalize Turner for a crap Peacock throw? Huh?
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 30, 2019
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Anthony Rendon did give the Nationals breathing room with a two-run shot giving the Nationals a 5-2 lead. The Nationals did file a protest over the call, yet have no chance of successfully challenging a judgment call.
Once the top of the inning ended. Manager Davey Martinez went after Holbrook who ejected him. Still the question remains why wasn’t common sense used? During the delay how come the umpire at first base Jim Wolf didn’t reverse the call? He was the one closest the play and didn’t make the interference call.
It looked even worse for Major League baseball when Joe Torre Chief Baseball Officer got asked about the call and explained the reasoning for the call getting made. He even foolishly went after Martinez and how he reacted to the call. Completely embarrassing for the sport.
Quite possibly the best explanation on the incorrect call came from former players when asking Turner about the play in question. It’s fortunate that the call didn’t completely change the outcome of the game.
Trea Turner joined our set to talk about the controversial call he was involved in and also gave us his Game 7 "prediction."@kevinburkhardt | @AROD | @davidortiz | @TheBigHurt_35 pic.twitter.com/w71X4G5VuW
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 30, 2019
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