Walt Weiss gets ejected by second base umpire Jerry Layne after arguing a call that was reversed via video replay. (Justin Edmonds, Getty Images)
In the second year of baseball’s manager’s challenge video replay review system, the Rockies may have found their first review of a review Wednesday in the third inning at Coors Field.
With the Astros ahead 3-0, with two outs, Charlie Blackmon stole second base. But his momentum bounced him up off the bag and Houston shortstop Carlos Correa held a tag his leg. So Astros manager A.J. Hinch challenged the call. It was an easy video replay decision and the call was overturned.
Then it got weird. Blackmon was clearly out. But Colorado manager Walt Weiss stormed out to argue with crew chief Jerry Layne, who was the ump at second base. Weiss, though, wasn’t arguing the out call. He was upset that Houston even put in a claim.
— it’s Section II, subsection D, article 1 — a manager must initiate a challenge before the next play. The “next play” is defined as: “…when the pitcher is on the rubber preparing to start his delivery and the batter has entered the batter’s box.”
It appeared DJ LeMahieu was in the batter’s box ready to hit and Brett Oberholtzer was on the rubber ready to pitch before Hinch walked out to challenge.
But there’s a parenthetical addendum to that rule that says: “Unless the defensive team initiates an appeal play in which case any call made during the play prior to the appeal still may be subject to Replay Review.”
Confused? It appeared the umpiring crew was too.
Layne tried to walk away from Weiss, but Weiss followed him to first base. Weiss got ejected, his second ejection this season. LeMahieu started to argue with home plate ump Bob Davidson before third base coach Stu Cole ran in to tear them apart.
“I felt the challenge came too late,” Weiss said. “Pitcher on the rubber, batter in the box — that’s too late.”
Weiss said he was told by the umps that MLB’s replay review office in New York determined the replay was valid. But he disagreed.
“It’s pretty simple, as far as I’m concerned,” he said.
LeMahieu was similarly perplexed.
“I didn’t even know you could challenge that,” LeMahieu said. “My understanding is, I was in the box, he was on the rubber, you can’t challenge anymore.”
LeMahieu was confident that he was in the box when the challenge came. And the umps, perhaps, hadn’t tabbed Oberholtzer.
“They knew I was in the box, I don’t think they were sure where the pitcher was,” LeMahieu said.
A pool reporter — Dennis Georgatos of The Associated Press — was allowed to meet with Layne after the game to clarify the ruling.
Here’s Layne’s explanation:
(Hinch) can initiate a challenge from the step. They’re looking at it. Sometimes it takes a little more for them to get the full replays in, from their guy that is looking at it, to tell them on the phone. This is different from last year.
So basically Walt was not happy that (Hinch) was allowed to challenge. But I don’t think Walt understood when he actually initiated the challenge. You don’t have to come out on the field anymore.
I felt the challenge was within the guidelines, that he went to the top step. Their argument was that he went to the top step and back into the dugout. But they can do that as long as he tells me, ‘Hey, we’re looking…’
So perhaps New York didn’t review the review. Perhaps Layne made that decision himself. Maybe Hinch said aloud that he wanted a challenge, and in time.
But after the game, after , the inning was still in dispute.
Tags: Bob Davidson, Brett Oberholtzer, Charlie Blackmon, DJ Lemahieu, ejection, Houston Astros, Jerry Layne, replay, Stu Cole, umpire, Video, Walt Weiss
