1997 NLCS: Worst called game in history

the worst called game in baseball history. 1997 NLCS Braves-Marlins.

[@tkearns4388]

Probably the only thing more amazing than that 5 foot wide strike zone is Bobby Cox not getting thrown out of the game.

[@profusely7767]

cox would get thrown out for much less

[@sebastianmoore1496]

Cox didn’t argue because Maddox got the same strike zone when he was pitching. When the zone is consistent, you just have to adjust and play baseball. Quit whining

[@tkearns4388]

@@sebastianmoore1496 The strike zone for Maddux and Cather was nowhere near as wide as it was for Hernandez. Quit lying.

[@markthompson6123]

The Braves lived on that for a decade. It was nice to see it finally go against them

[@virtsie]

@@sebastianmoore1496 maybe stop making excuses for shitting umpiring

[@kevintrujillo281]

When you have dinner reservations at 9:30 but have to ump at 7:05.

[@2AForever-wi8yj]

When you have a $10,000 riding on the Marlins.

[@brandonzuniga6236]

Lol

[@d-mo733]

Well Kinda funny since strike zone was EXACT SAME for Glavine and Braves too..So cry a river elsewhere..Marlins had to deal with it too

[@Mark-sj3xb]

Mad Dog didn’t get calls on that level

[@aaronmccain714]

Glavine didn't get calls 2 feet out of the strike zone ether. There was something funny about this game....

[@sportslife5129]

That was the last playoff series he ever officiated. I can see why he wasn't brought back for the 1998 and 1999 postseason. He was out of the league 2 years later.

[@johnnyjohntheschemindreame9193]

I haven't seen calls like that since Frank Drebin Angels v Mariners '88

[@lukeluclucas1]

fuckin priceless comment!

[@thirdlantern]

Look! It's Enrico Palazzo!

[@christopherjohnson9321]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[@lukeslattery7294]

Johnny Jeremy haha! Um...strike???

[@Liam-Carlson]

Lol I remember that game. He tackled Reggie Jackson and saved the Queen!

[@AdonisJones]

I remember reading an interview with Fred McGriff or someone on that Braves team where they said a few players did have some words with Eric Gregg, but it only made things worse. Bobby Cox tried to step in, but that didn't do any good. Gregg had it in his mind that Livan Hernandez was going to be Bob Gibson for one day, and that was all there was to it.

[@zhoubaidinh403]

Nothing worse than a proud arrogant fool.

[@robcarter167]

Who is Bob Gibson?

[@rockybalboa5896]

@@robcarter167 Google is your friend.

[@robcarter167]

@@rockybalboa5896 Ahhh, yeah, he’s that guy from the thing.

[@Juicejohnson172]

​@@robcarter167unprovoked incrimination of yourself followed by some patronization. What a sequence.

[@gandg3299]

Damn and I though my high school umps were bad holy shit

[@railsldr]

Mrhomerunner09 well I mean to be a fair compared to an NLCS your high school games didn’t matter anymore than a fart in the wind

[@thetruth72667]

You'd also get yelled @by a HS coach for chasing bad pitches if you were to try & hit these pitches!

[@michaeldavid6284]

I'll never forget watching this game at my neighborhood watering hole. Everyone was shocked, and in disbelief as his calls seemed to get worse. I thought maybe someone had dosed my pizza with windowpane.

[@strongestnattyever-videos2247]

Yeah… your sister is a filthy woman.

[@richardchase3346]

I've seen Eric Gregg in casino's in Vegas several times. I was a researcher for a baseball pub. for several years so I knew who he was. Was a BIG gambler. Coincidence? I don't think so...

[@KOHF34]

Richard Chase Might explain why Bud Selig wouldn't rehire him.

[@goingyard06]

More than likely he had the under because he was consistent both ways.

[@Liam-Carlson]

Eric Gregg resigned during the 1999 umpire strike. Was never hired back... for obvious reasons

[@nethw7740]

@Paul Kryder probably not important to everyone else

[@SarahDigsHockey]

you worked for a baseball pub and you spell casinos (plural not possessive) with an apostrophe?

[@crou8040]

He clearly had money on the Fish. Or the mob threatened his family. And don't give me that shit about "consistency." Being consistently bad is not okay.

[@lcrossmk8563]

Why does it matter that much? Maddux got the same strike zone.

[@ADEAL918]

lcrossmk8 because Maddux was not a power/strikeout pitcher. He was a finesse pitcher. Hernandez was a power pitcher so an unfairly wide strike zone would benefit a pitcher like Hernandez far more than it would a pitcher like Maddux. Maddux intended for batters to put the ball in play. That style of pitching would not gain such an advantage from a strike zone like this because it was never his M.O. to keep the ball as far away from the hitters as he could get away with. Might have been more even benefit if Smoltz had been pitching this game for the Braves instead of Maddux. He also was more of a power pitcher, capable of ringing up big K totals as well. But with Maddux and his style of pitching, this strike zone have Hernandez a clear and unfair advantage.

[@lorenzodemedici1]

If he didn't help the fish he might be sleeping with the fishes!

[@MariaAlvarez-ew4rv]

It would’ve also benefited Kevin Brown (the intended starting pitcher for that game but didn’t because he’d fallen ill with the flu that day)

[@robzeleki4530]

I agree 👍

[@BossMode96]

If that’s how wide his strike zone was, I almost feel like I could’ve pitched a shutout with him as the ump 😂

[@paganmaestro]

I remember watching this game with a friend. We were falling off the couch laughing at one ridiculous call after another. An abomination.

[@richmotroni]

Eric Gregg's strike zone on that day was from first to third.

[@Johnny2x4701]

who paid that ump to call those those strikes

[@TheDrippy3]

I remember watching this game, and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Mike Mussina, with a much smaller strike zone, had fanned 14 earlier in the day against Cleveland and it looked like Gregg was determined that Hernandez get one more strikeout. Hernandez control was really good as he consistently hit that 8 in outside target. The last pitch of the game was insane. When the umpire strike came along, Gregg was toast.

[@Danfrombackhome]

For some reason all the leagues have this hard on for florida teams. Its fucking weird. Nhl is hands down the worst with it too

[@MWFrontier]

Coke dealers threaten the umps??? Haha

[@24HeySay]

That had to be the strangest game I've ever seen. I'm not a fan of either team but I decided to pull for the Marlins because they were the underdog. But by about the fifth inning I had changed my mind. I was laughing in disbelief, convinced that somebody had paid off Gregg because I'd never seen calls like that before -- or since. It was a conscious decision by Gregg that he was going to be Hernandez's boy that day, for whatever reason. So I was very happy when a few years later he stupidly agreed to go out on strike and baseball refused to reinstate him after the strike was settled. He was a disgrace, the worst ump I've ever seen. That is, except for one: an inmate at Chino State Prison who umpired a a series that my softball team -- which had won the LA County championship -- played against the prisoners one hot August weekend decades ago, as a sort of goodwill thing. Going into the bottom of the last inning of the last game that weekend we led by three runs, but that ump just started calling every pitch our pitcher threw a ball. Soon enough he had walked in the losing (for us) runs on pitches that were right down the middle. We pretty much knew what was going on, but the ump confirmed it to us right afterwards: "Hey, I've got to live with these guys." Eric Gregg did not have that excuse. He had no excuse. He either took a heavy payoff or he really was that incompetent.

[@KraykrayCJ5]

I read the whole thing

[@bully3628]

Even the catcher was stunned at that strike call that ended the game. He was about to throw the ball back to the pitcher when Gregg rung McGriff up. Then after he takes his mask off he's got this WTF smile on his face. It's a disgrace that such an important NLCS game would be affected by Gregg's ridiculous strike zone.

[@gst013]

Can't imagine why he'd be stunned when that pitch was consistently called a strike over and over again 😅

[@ogrebattle22763]

Eric Gregg was definitely the worst umpire in MLB history..... Hands down...

[@8rosab]

He had money on the Marlins

[@waynelaney42]

ogrebattle22763 bill hohn

[@ogrebattle22763]

Worse then Eric Gregg? I know he was a bit controversial but worse then Gregg I don't know about that...

[@matthewreed8277]

worst ump ever. His greatest on field achievement was stuffing a size 48 backside into size 42 pants. Mistakenly thought the game was about him.

[@TomSmith-dt4tj]

now CB Bucknor has claimed that mantle.

[@user6008]

Eric Gregg was paid to throw this game. Dirty umpire, period.

[@richardfigueroa9498]

Damn I want some of the stuff that guy was high on it most be good. Just kidding.

[@geordiejones5618]

Yeah ONE of these calls would have been enough to infuriate another team but a whole game? What a piece of shit.

[@OBESPRING1982]

@@geordiejones5618 What a piece of shit? Which member of the braves organization are you referring to? At what level? You need to narrow it down a little or I could be here all day guessing.

[@patrickhovard6322]

OBESPRING1982 he was talking about the ump why you acting like a jackass

[@d-mo733]

YEA..thats why Braves got same calls! Braves were just too stupid to not take advantage! Marlins were the better team by alot!

[@andrewsheehy4998]

Vic Carapazza and Angel Hernandez love this.

[@ishan1759]

And CB Bucknor

[@RealBlueony]

Joe West

[@aaronyoung2200]

Gregg just wanted to get out early..got buzzed his table at Chili's was ready..

[@elvenmagejr1905]

man I've never seen anything like it. that ump is a joke. I literally laughed at the last strikeout. the way the ump threw his fist on strike 3.

[@TomSmith-dt4tj]

the ball was both outside AND high.

[@tinton3w]

lol Livan Hernandez actually celebrating like he'd accomplished something.

[@robertrosenberg8745]

Did you hear Bob Costas saying Hernandez "strikeout" was ball 4.

[@daviddemaria3982]

Karma caught up with this fraudulent umpire - dead at 55.

[@jonnyplastic]

He's worse than the Naked Gun ump

[@silencedknight]

I like how they knew he was calling it way outside so they just kept pitching it out of his reach and right into the umpire's zone.

[@tylercarslake8993]

I hate the braves but that ump is a disgrace to baseball very unfair

[@jstrahan2]

Why hate the Braves? Now...the Yankees. That's a different matter.

[@francischabot1412]

I would agree if it was any other teams than Atlanta. The Braves got served their own medicine that night. I remember some nights the Braves getting calls that were a good foot outside the plate easily.

[@claygilchrist632]

@@francischabot1412 The Braves pitchers could definitely expand the strike zone. But not with pitches in the other side's batters box like in this game.

[@CinHotlanta]

@@francischabot1412 All great pitchers got an inch or so off the plate if they consistently hit it, especially in the 80's and 90's when the strike zone got wider and shorter (when it started moving down from the letters to the belt). For a good example of this you can see the full game 2 or 3 (can't remember which) from this same series on KZbin right now, Glavine spent the whole game nibbling, and got no calls more than an inch or so off the plate, which was quite typical of his entire career. This game was nothing like what was typically given to even the best pitchers of the era - it certainly destroyed Eric Gregg's career. That was why MLB tried to scrub it from existence. It was impossible to find outside of people's bootleg tapes here on YT. It was then and remains now one of their greatest embarrassments.

[@Lava1964]

I believe the correspondent from Sports Illustrated said the last pitch of the game split the opposite batter's box. That's a bit of hyperbole, but it's almost the truth!

[@DAK4Blizzard]

Yep. From the catcher's perspective, he was set up on the outside third of the plate. He caught the ball to the left of his left shoulder, and it was definitely over the opposite batter's box, both when it crossed the plate and when it was caught. Which leads me to think the umpire was using the opposite batter's box as the strike zone. After all, that one is visible.

[@mitchconn]

Wow...that is the first time since 1997 I have seen footage of this game. It's one thing to remember how bad his calls were, and now that I've seen them again, it is undispouted that that was, without a doubt, THE WORST strike zone ever called in the history of MLB, and that idiot Gregg did in a playoff game. I was SOOOOO glad when he was one of the incompetent morons who was fired after the Umpires strike. Disgraceful.

[@seankiesling2054]

He resigned

[@actionjackson8439]

When you are that horrible at your job, you should have enough sense to know that if you resign, they ain't gonna ask you to come back. He was as good at umpiring as he was at dieting.

[@laserramon9926]

That last called strike against McGriff was an abomination. Literally 2 and a half feet off the plate. Smfh.

[@rickishere2game]

He resigned due to health issues. He was going blind and was severely overweight.

[@matthewhansen9423]

I saw that game. Completely amazed that no one called him out on it. I don't get why umpires are that protected??? Some of the strikeouts, it looked as if he was calling the strike before the pitch even made it to the catcher. I swear, there were two or three where he's already punching the guy out when the ball is halfway to home.

[@drewizkoollikeicecre]

There was no way he wasn’t paid off. Ridiculous. Even the announcers were flabbergasted. Him being fired after the strike threat was perfect.

[@Rocketman9mm]

This is the zone Verlander got in the 2012 ALDS. fucking horse shit.

[@jimmystrudel687]

mother of christ those aren't even close to being strikes

[@chrizles]

+Jimmy Strudel it politics bro

[@ayy_lmao_4208]

the little box graphic isnt accurate dipshit

[@jimmystrudel687]

ayy_lmao_420 you don't need the graphic box to see how outside those pitches are. all you need is a pair of eyes DIP SHIT.

[@keiwy_7908]

+ayy_lmao_420 it's more accurate than your front teeth

[@critter2]

is that why they still use htem and you people still believe in them

[@blown22]

Talk about poetic justice...God meant to strike the guy sitting next to him down with a stroke, but he missed his target by two feet.

[@thomasmckenzie4584]

At least he was consistent. He basically said "I'm giving Livan 16 inches outside the plate. You better swing the bat." But yes, absolutely brutal.

[@robloxvids2233]

You can't even hit those fair without stepping out of the batter's box, which means you're out anyway. Literally nothing you could do other than hope you get drilled or hope the umpire died of a heart attack and was replaced by a blind guy mid-game.

[@pegasus51505317]

i can't tell what's worse... the strike zone or the video quality

[@blacjackdaniels200]

It’s almost a quarter century old...give him a break Lol

[@markh.9822]

This could be 60p at 1 frame per second and the umping would still be worse

[@samuelholley8186]

The braves could of won 2 world series in the 90s if they won that game

[@jcod82us]

Samuel Holley very true... Gregg had a very generous strike zone for Hernandez, Livan took full advantage of it. If I remember correctly, the series was tied at 2, wonder who would have been the pitcher for the Marlins for Game 6 had the Braves won Game 5?

[@fralf4381]

Yes only because the Yankees lost to the Indians that year lol

[@hisroyalhighness8566]

Could HAVE OR COULD'VE not could of. You fucking Peasant learn some basic grammar.

[@sportslife5129]

They could have won 3 if they held on to that 6-0 lead in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series.

[@DoubleJ1203]

The whole '97 playoffs piss me off. I was a fan of Cleveland back then and was pisssed and still am til this day that Tony Fernandez missed the 2nd most routine ground ball in the history of the major leagues. Forgot about this game. I was pulling for the Braves for a rematch of '95. I was a huge aFred McGriff fan back in the day, still am. What a ridiculously called game.

[@cardigan3000]

jesus christ the braves fans have short memories - i remember some of the strikes glavine maddux and smolz used to get called were regularly a foot off the plate - inside and outside. And by regularly i mean every game.

[@OBESPRING1982]

Those hypocrites absolutely do not see it that way. Fixin' the game is OK as long as it's fixed in their favor.

[@vihockeyguy1]

I want to see pitches that we’re called balls from this game

[@THEDEGENERATEGAMBLER97]

Was that an ump, or did he just stay at a holiday inn

[@iliv4disc77]

that is one of the best You Tube comments ever. I am LMAO!!!

[@sparklesthecat6507]

I thought it was a blimp

[@robertrosenberg8745]

but with no sleep all night.

[@dahnavonpippen6547]

nice lamp

[@elijaht.wreckingball5532]

This just in - Eric Gregg was recently spotted officiating the 2019 NFC Championship game between the Rams and Saints. Seriously though, I had forgotten just how furious I was watching this game. Thanks for poking an old wound with this video :)

[@OBESPRING1982]

So, he's the reason the Rams didn't get 1st & goal from the face mask on the qb in the 4th quarter? After all that time, he resurfaced in another major sport? Fascinating.

[@zikalokof1challenge414]

Eric Gregg (the umpire of the LCS) died in 2006.

[@BenGetItIn]

Both of these games were just referenced on First Take as the worst officiated games in sports history.

[@rickishere2game]

​@@OBESPRING1982it was his ghost 😂

[@hserittg]

I went to a Braves game this season. In this game we got beat because our newly acquired Livan Hernandez stunk it completely up. I went down to where the players board the bus and yelled at Livan, "Still a Braves killer I see". He kinda smirked and then got on the bus.

[@Mark-sj3xb]

Some of these calls, Gregg had already begun his strike call before it hit the mitt.

[@Mark-sj3xb]

When the ever-so-calm Fred McGriff argues a call you know it’s bad.

[@Johnster2657]

Was this guy paid, I dont understand the story behind this. That is just terrible.

[@OBESPRING1982]

He was just giving the braves a lil' of their own medicine. And they cried like toddlers while it was GOING DOWN. LUV IT!

[@SportsAndHorrorFanatic]

Livan Hernandez may have been in the zone, but these pitches certainly weren’t.

[@robertrosenberg8745]

Bought Gregg a steak dinner after the game.

[@jasonresler]

The Braves never would have won anything in the 90s if Maddux and Glavine weren't getting those same exact calls.

[@frankfu220]

It was poetic justice that the Braves finally got the same treatment, and in a knockout game, as the teams trying hit against Maddux and Glavine for 7 or 8 consecutive years

[@Russ5Tide]

Wow, that’s just pitiful, ump (if he deserves to even be called an umpire) would fit perfect calling softball games. Especially with that awful looking way he rings em up

[@markharris5107]

It is time to let laser technology call balls and strikes and remove the imperious umpires from those calls.

[@_762aromatose5]

Then C.B. wouldn't be able to receive the recognition of being the worst in the show every year.

[@THEDEGENERATEGAMBLER97]

Turn off that lamp

[@Smokealotofblunts]

That was hard to watch, even as a Yankee fan.

[@Mark-sj3xb]

Check out the pitch at 0:31 he already nodded is head in acknowledgment that it was a strike just as it left Livan’s hand

[@BestGuyEver1969]

Braves got a little taste of their own medicine. Glavine and Maddux enjoyed a wider strike zone than anyone else in the league based on their reputation.

[@OBESPRING1982]

Finally, a voice of reason. Tony Larussa said as much in the immediate aftermath when the CHOKING DOG braves were bitchin' and moanin'. FUCK Bobby Cox and that whole organization. A couple years later, Peter Gammons reported that it had gotten back to MLB umps that the braves trained their catchers to set up with the target outside the strike zone so when the pitch hit the mitt, the ump would call a strike and, needless to say, the braves days as semi-legitimate W.S. contenders were OVER. The CON JOB was finished.

[@samwells7916]

Is it OK to feel sorry for Gregg? Umpires are only human. Put yourself in Gregg's shoes. We all make mistakes. We all have bad days at the office.

[@ilovepears]

This is not a case of making a 'mistake'. It is consistently making the same incorrect call over and over. My father was a AAA umpire and I am making my way up the circuit. There's no way you can have an excuse for this, especially in the NLCS. You should be ashamed.

[@eviola11]

dummy

[@randyquis4393]

Sam, you are clearly being stubborn about this. His 15 Ks in this game were his career best by four...42% of his pitches in this game were called strikes, while his season high for strike% was 29%. This would be an extremely bad day at the office. Try going to your job and making 20 straight mistakes and just tell your boss you are having a bad day. Not going to fly.

[@happilyretiredmark2964]

MLB should have intervened in that game after the 3rd inning and sent Gregg to the buffet and got a sub umpire!

[@fuel20]

I wanna watch this game in its entirety just to see if there was favoritism or if he was just that bad.

[@d-mo733]

It was called even! Braves got same calls. Only difference was the Marlins took advantage bc Braves were not smart enough too! Florida had a better team anyhow!

[@conzmoleman]

@@d-mo733 give it up bro, i see you everywhere in these comments plying that BS line. i don’t care about the marlins or the braves so believe me when i say you are so full of shit

[@chickenfkeryay]

It was not even

[@morfene]

thats SO fucked up they shouldnt have won

[@johnnyconservative]

Those calls are terrible, but Greg Maddux got calls like that all the time.

[@jpharper3431]

Maybe the first few times were legitimate mistakes, but then he felt stuck calling that pitch a strike for the rest of the game for consistency sake. You can't do that at the MLB level.

[@ohxishxitsxdavid]

I can’t believe the only clip I can find of this lowlight is some dude recording a cable show on a tube-TV with a Blackberry.

[@kristinithbonkers4205]

I was just looking for it tonight, too. Gregg was paid to throw this game. Bobby Cox should have had the entire coaching staff thrown out during that farce.

[@cobrallama6236]

Full game is on KZbin now!

[@ilyylouie]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2q8moxmiLCAZ6M

[@CinHotlanta]

MLB did everything they could to erase this game for a very long time.

[@dancarpentieri7762]

I remember watching this game and I could've sworn I was on shrooms or acid.

[@hutchphilpot6870]

This video quality is top-tier, God level quality. The potato 🥔 they used to film it on must’ve been from Idaho.

[@orenthaljames2534]

he was very consistent

[@spongelord7098]

+Orenthal James True, he was consistently wrong.

[@jackjon7763]

Spongelord still though as a hitter you have to adjust to the outside calls. You cannot expect a ball call when he called 20 outside like that

[@oldfrend]

i get consistent and having to adapt to it, but those pitches are unhittable. you can't adapt to strikes literally a foot off the plate.

[@jackjon7763]

oldfrend right but if he is consistently calling them out there you can't be surprised when he calls it a strike. And if I was a pitcher I'd be talking to my catcher saying we are staying out there all night.

[@DisAccountizaMiracle]

Ok guys time to use the 46" bats tonight.

[@jimbohnenkamp5082]

Hrbek is a hero to the Twins fans, but they know they didn't win that game fairly.

[@dougg2012]

Man I’m so sorry for everything I said about Angel Hernandez

[@Mark-sj3xb]

The. number of bad calls in this one game are 3 months of bad calls for Angel Hernandez. Thats how horrible he was on this day

[@frankwhite1895]

Gregg had the best punch out.

[@Ididntaskforahandleyoutube]

I just watched the calls Maddox got and thought those were bad. These were bad on a biblical scale.

[@OBESPRING1982]

Hypocritical braves fans don't want to hear it.

[@d-mo733]

Maddux AND Glavine BOTH got handed calls! Marlins were just the better team n took advantage of it where the Braves were too stupid to!

[@904jagzsuck5]

@@OBESPRING1982 little different when you gotta shelf fulla Cy Youngs. For a 2 bit slinger like Hernandez to get em is a joke.

[@904jagzsuck5]

@@OBESPRING1982 I'm guessing Maddux and Glavine mowed your team down a few times 😆

[@chickenfkeryay]

​@@904jagzsuck5 Livan was really good pitcher in his prime playing in florida.

[@HardcoreUly]

When you have results like this, why can't MLB get it right and use technology to improve the accuracy of balls/strikes called? The technology is there, but who's fighting it? 1997 Marlins = biggest fluke in postseason history. That series was a joke thanks to Eric Gregg. I don't miss this guy at all. He did nothing to improve the reputation of baseball umpires.

[@eriklee109]

Ulysses Lim Honestly, this guy was clueless. We try and get the bad eggs out. The worst are the older/ longer tenured umps who have so much pull that they can't be replaced despite having a bad game or being blatantly unwilling to change their style for the modern day. Laser/advanced cameras may come in the future, but for now we have to have real accountability system for terribly called games, games like this (which happen once in a blue moon).

[@724Broncofan]

+Erik Lee If you want an umpire thrown out over one bad game, then every umpire would be fired in their first season. But this was really bad. This goes beyond bad. Not only that, this guy's career as a whole was bad. So I don't care if they have one bad game. They are humans, it will happen to everyone. I just don't like a season of this shit....or longer.

[@jbobbster]

Greg Maddux got the SAME strike zone that Hernandez was getting. Saying this series was solely decided by Eric Gregg's strike zone in this game is BS. It was the same for both sides, no matter how crappy it was. The Marlins players were also struck out on called strikes that were nowhere near the plate. The difference was Maddux gave up 2 runs and Livan only gave up 1.

[@HardcoreUly]

Both those guys wer overrated. Ther careers went downhill when pitchtrax was implemented.

[@dtice69]

+Specterling it's true that maddux got some generous calls too, but good god, at least he was painting the corners still! he was actually trying to disguise his balls as strikes and just got some generous calls. hernandez on the other hand...man. i mean, you can't blame him for taking advantage of what gregg was giving to him but damn, some of these pitches were not even close. it almost looks like he was actually trying to dare gregg to call one of his pitches a ball and gregg just wasn't having it lol the truth is we'll never know whether or not maddux actually got the EXACT SAME strike zone seeing as how he was getting the nibble calls while hernandez took full advantage of that zone. gregg gave him the keys to the lambo and he took it for a joyride

[@mridge01]

Wow. I could dominate with a strike zone like that.

[@snoopyrules333]

Thanks for posting, I remembered this game, and I hate the Braves....but for MLB to never address this game was criminal. And regretfully, E. Gregg was never disciplined. If we had Twitter, and all the social media we have today, they might have replayed this game, lol. it was in one word CRIMINAL...and I am a Mets fan, so you know I hate the Braves...what a SCREWING they got from that umpire.

[@OBESPRING1982]

If you viewed this as anything less than the braves getting a taste of their own medicine, you are NOT a Mets fan.

[@itz_Max_yall]

I didn't believe the rumors people said in 1997--that MLB rigged this game, b/c they wanted to promote the rookie, Livan Hernandez, as a feel-good Cuban defector story; however, after looking at this video clip again (after years of not having thought about it), I am now convinced. Posts here state that Eric Gregg was incompetent or stupid. Let me tell you something: you don't get to be a major league ump if you can't see that a ball ONE FOOT off the plate isn't a strike. This was a rigged game.

[@MrBruinman86]

1997 NLCS: Worst Quality TV Capture KZbin video in history

[@nostalgiaman6816]

Because KZbin & MLB won't put the full game up. They know what they did.

[@OBESPRING1982]

Javy Lopez knew the deal: www.sfgate.com/sports/article/America-s-Team-shouldn-t-expect-many-sympathy-3094123.php

[@rdp842003]

Just saw this on tv. Man I couldn't stop laughing lol

[@rmannapbc]

I remember this game. It's hard to forget. Last pitch of the game was a called strike 3. Shocker!!

[@joshuadespain5048]

Lifelong braves fan here, Eric Greg had me so mad that day I couldn't stand to watch. Absolutely horrible.

[@OBESPRING1982]

If you're a "lifelong braves fan", you really need to get a life.

[@MrTuck187]

Filmed at home on a low-fi potato.

[@rugbyslug]

Somebody got paid.

[@Eric_M_]

Eric Gregg's strike zone was affected by gambling. Period and end of story.

[@jamiljohnson1694]

my brother charles Johnson was laughing the whole time behind the plate

[@d-mo733]

C.J is the man! Best Marlin Catcher of all time! Piazza, Pudge And Realmuto didnt have enough time to qualify. C.J was incredible!

[@amusement420]

I remember this 'interpretation of the strike zone'. The people who throw out the first pitch and get no where near the plate. Strike.

[@Pewnhound112]

Bill Miller be like “hold my beer”

[@kennygriff24]

Thats really sad that an umpire could fuck up such a huge game that badly. I mean those hitters didnt even have a chance.

[@henryvu8676]

If anyone cared to check, espn called this one of the worst called games in sports history. Just saying.

[@billyd5749]

Has to be THE worst.

[@OBESPRING1982]

Who gives a shit what the Extra-liberal Social-engineering Nutcase Pussies think?

[@coolguy02536]

@@OBESPRING1982 That has a nice ring to it.

[@bribay]

Goddamn. I hardly watch baseball and I can tell those pitches were balls

[@benschockley2899]

Gregg called that super-wide outside strike zone only to left-handed hitters (as you might be able to tell from the highlights). The problem was that the Braves had six left-handed hitters (the first six hitters in their lineup were left-handed, actually), whereas the Marlins only had three left-handed hitters in their lineup (Devon White, Bobby Bonilla, Craig Counsell). So through sheer happenstance, Atlanta suffered from the lopsided strike zone.

[@rupertmurdoch4750]

The worst called game in history was the 2016 election

[@chamwa]

Eric Gregg is dead right? Just saying

[@glst1974]

Correct

[@garyortiz6491]

Wonder how much he got paid to through this game.?????????

[@bnegs521]

There was a theory that Gregg was so out of shape and had such a hard time doing his job anymore that he called everything a strike.

[@kevinseveneleven]

In the 90s there were a lot of fatass umps who would get like that open up the strike zone and try to get the game over with quicker, especially in the dog days of summer in a stadium like Cincinatti where they had this nasty artificial turf and that was not a dome stadium so a day game in July would be brutal I remember the Giants broadcast having a thermometer on the field and it'd go up to like 110+ degrees with the sun pounding that rubber turf all day.

[@bnegs521]

You are exactly right Kevin. That was very well said. St. Louis was another stadium and KC too. Those umps wanted that game over!

[@kevinseveneleven]

@Paul Kryder I believe his name was Ligma

[@coolguy02536]

@@bnegs521 August in Kansas City really is hotter than two rats fucking in a wool sock.

[@AppleSquad]

nice lamp bro

[@claygilchrist632]

Those pitches were in the right handed batter's box. LOL

[@thetruth72667]

Haha damn they were! Good call.

[@Benjji2x]

I'm surprised this ump isn't Asian, sorry no racism intended

[@Jetaylor5]

I remember watching this game... when he called that strike 3 on Fred McGriff in such disbelief... braves shoulve won the series

[@jbobbster]

This game didn't cost the Braves the series. Madrid was beaten in Game 1 and Smoltz couldn't hold the lead in Game 3. And they had Glavine going in Game 6, with Smoltz due for Game 7.

[@d-mo733]

Braves shoulda Won?!!! Bahahahahaha! What a moronic comment! Hell they shoulda "WON" Alright..they only "WON" ONE in 14 yrs straight! The team wasnt as good as Floridas team! They had SOOO Many chances n couldnt cash in! Marlins were the better team that year!

[@willeythekid9490]

I like how the pitcher knew he was going to get the call so he just kept throwing it in the other batter's box. Smart by the pitcher to take advantage of the ump.

[@992009danny]

Props to the pitcher and catcher for taking advantage of the situation

[@jakedoc4610]

What is so messed up, is its not even like the catcher was doing a good job framing the pitch, he was setting up outside, it did not matter one cluck.

[@announcermax4071]

I'm no Marlins or Braves fan but, that's ludacris

[@lutherjohnson99]

Ludicrous. The other one is a washed up rapper.

[@michaelarons4322]

how are the braves not arguing these calls?

[@MikePSU]

Most of them were outside but the circle showing where the ball was, was where it was caught, not where it crossed the plate.

[@TylerHurst]

Sure, but that's a helluva break from a right-handed pitcher. Almost a foot in the span of 2-3 feet?

[@smartyjones2454]

Actually, with a right handed pitcher his curve ball breaks right to left. Therefore "where the catcher catches the ball" in this case is more of a strike than "where it crosses the plate". Elementary.

[@kentfletcher8539]

@ InsaneDaRoss, that's not true. The circle does, in fact mark where the ball was when it went past the plate, whether it crossed it or not.

[@msw600]

It just has to nick any corner of the plate. However it has to be where the batter has a chance to hit it. It has to be between the batters armpits and knees which corresponds close to the catchers knees and chest. As long as there is the human element and not a machine calling balls and strikes; there will always be questionable calls. However Eric Gregg (RIP) had a very bad game here. He was a good umpire prior to that game for many years. I suspect maybe he wasn't feeling well, and was in a rush to get the game over with.

[@tennantwv]

Also camera angle isn't straight on

[@cardigan3000]

i didnt say they got calls like that - i said they had huge strikezones for many years and one bad game against you doesnt give you the right to moan. And yes i saw maddux get them a foot off home plate.