One of the beautiful parts of baseball is the extensive spectrum of manager anger.
There's "tersely question a pitch selection" mad. There's "yell at a guy for not running out a ground ball" mad. There's "red-faced screaming at a belligerent umpire" mad.
Then there's "get so frustrated about losing a game because of a bad non-call that you print out a visual aid and show it to the media" mad, as Nationals manager Dave Martinez displayed Wednesday.
The play in question came in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Houston Astros. The Nationals had rallied from down three runs in the top of the inning but were in danger of a walk-off loss when the Astros loaded the bases against reliever Hunter Harvey.
With one out, Harvey appeared to get the play he needed when Astros center fielder Jake Meyers hit a ground ball to shortstop CJ Abrams, who threw out Kyle Tucker at home. Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz went for the double-play with a throw to first base, only for the ball to bounce off Meyers' helmet and give the Astros the game-winning run.
Martinez was not happy. He believed Meyers was running outside the basepath when the throw hit him, which should've meant he was out. Home plate umpire Jeremy Riggs disagreed, and because it's not a challengeable play, the Astros won, and the play was charged as a throwing error on Ruiz.
That wasn't the end of it because Martinez apparently spent the precious time between the end of the game and his postgame news conference sitting by a printer getting a picture ready for reporters. The picture showed Meyers very clearly running on the infield grass as Ruiz threw to first:
Martinez's reaction to the play:
"There it is, right there. Take a good look at it. Is that on the line? I don't think so. I'm over this play. They need to fix the rule. This is what the umpires see, that he's running down the line? Tired of it. Tired of it. Fix it. We lost the game, and he had nothing to say about it because he can't make the right call. Brutal. Brutal."
You might remember the reason Martinez said he's tired of this play.
Four years ago, in Game 6 of the World Series, the same two teams were playing when Nationals shortstop Trea Turner hit a soft grounder with his team down 3-2 in the seventh inning. Pitcher Brad Peacock's throw to first sailed past Turner, who clipped first baseman Yuli Gurriel's glove as he ran through the base.
The play ended with runners on second and third, but umpire Sam Holbrook ruled Turner out for interference. Replay showed that Turner had run on the infield grass for a few steps before running directly over the base.
The Nationals won the game 7-2 after rallying later that inning, but it was still a massively important call.
The Nats have now been on both sides of a potential interference call at Minute Maid Park, with the umpires ruling in the Astros' favor in both cases. Turner ran on the grass too much for the umpires' liking, while Meyers was fine running completely over the grass. Fortunately, this one didn't come with the risk of costing a team the World Series.
The loss continues the Nationals' post-2019 hard times, as the team's record sits at 26-40, good for last place in the NL East. The Astros improved to 39-29, second only to the Seattle Mariners in the AL West.
"about" - Google News
June 15, 2023 at 11:09AM
https://ift.tt/2HVx0qg
Nationals manager Davey Martinez so angry about a game-losing non-call that he printed out a visual aid - Yahoo Sports
"about" - Google News
https://ift.tt/t9SH0PU
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Nationals manager Davey Martinez so angry about a game-losing non-call that he printed out a visual aid - Yahoo Sports"
Post a Comment