Umpire explains why he made controversial interference call to end White Sox-Orioles game originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Thursday’s game between the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles ended with one of the most bizarre decisions you’ll ever see a team of umpires make.
Trailing 8-2 in the final frame, the White Sox rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth and had a chance to win the game with runners on first and second base with one out.
Andrew Benintendi swung for an infield pop-out, and Andrew Vaughn leisurely walked back to second base when shortstop Gunner Henderson moved up to make the catch. The referee called in Vaughn, who unintentionally (not to mention barely) stepped into Henderson’s path.
Fans on social media immediately went after the referee, Junior Valentine, for calling for interference on a play that would have been ruled out regardless of whether the ball was caught or not due to the infield fly rule. Whether Vaughn actually interfered with the shortstop was also debatable.
So why did the referees call Vaughn out if the interference wouldn’t have mattered anyway?
The MLB rulebook states that “a runner adjudged to have interfered with a fielder attempting to make a play on a batted ball is out, whether intentionally or not.” This means that the referee actually had reasons to interfere with Vaughn, no matter how shoddy.
“She [the umpires] I called the game correctly based on the rules,” Pedro Grifol said after the match. “I just don’t like the rule. No match should end like this. That’s just my opinion.”
The other controversy is whether or not an official can or should call interference on a played, ruled inside catch.
The infield fly rule states that an umpire can declare the batter out on “any fair catch that can be caught with ordinary effort by an infielder when first and second, or first, second and third, are occupied,” even if the ball is not occupied. captured. This is to prevent teams from intentionally dropping fly balls with the intent of causing a force out.
After the game, Valentine stated that an inside fly being called does not affect an interference call.
“If you see the interference, call it out,” he said.
The main conclusion from the pool report is that referees say there is no discretion as to whether the interference affected the outcome of the game. They see it, they mention it.
“I like the way they called the piece,” Pedro Grifol said afterwards. “I’m just not good with the rule.” pic.twitter.com/sUbiA6DLh1
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) May 24, 2024
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