Ejections 130-131 - Umpires' Reversed Foul-to-K Call is the Last Straw for Cleveland, Terry Francona

HP Umpire Lance Barksdale ejected Guardians manager Terry Francona and 3B Umpire/Crew Chief Alan Porter ejected CF Myles Straw after an incorrect foul ball call was correctly reversed to a strikeout, the proper call. Report: www.closecalls...
Twitter: / closecallsports
Discord: / discord
In addition to the rules about changing-a-call, we also glimpse a 1st inning home plate collision rule that resulted in the Tigers scoring a run on an overturned call when Replay Review determined Cleveland's catcher illegally blocked the plate as Detroit's baserunner attempted to score.

[@CenzoVD]

The way the announcers talked about the blue in the C position is an absolute travesty. Umpires cannot win even when they do they job perfectly.

[@russellbrooker2122]

I hammer this point no matter what you do everyone is bitching

[@juniorferrante7999]

Announcers have been doing this for some time. They are openly speaking in the most contemptible manner about umps. It’s pathetic!

[@dunn2813ify]

Alan Porter is an outstanding umpire and imo he did a great job!

[@matthewnickerson3991]

My problem with the home plate rule is that they are NEVER being called on the field. They are always beings overturned by New York when they slow it down to the milliseconds. If it is so egregious how come it's not being called by any umps on the field!

[@LindsayImber1]

The umpires have been instructed not to call this on the field and wait for Replay to make a determination.

[@Reflectivityy]

@@LindsayImber1 which is 100% wrong. At that point you are putting the game outside of the umpire's hands. It should be that way in every single sport. You make a call on the field and if the necessity for a review comes about due to the call then you review it. You don't let a play happen with no call then decide you want to review it off the field. It dilutes the integrity of the officiating and the need should only be if a bad enough call has to be corrected. As an official it is your job to not only know but maintain all calls regarding player safety, game integrity and so forth. If the Umpire feels that the player on the field did not warrant any type of discipline or game correcting altercation, by any language within the rules via restricting, causing injury to or any other violation then no entity outside of the field of play should have any input. The only exception would be in egregious error on the part of an official. The foot was 6 inches over, while still technically a violation, a call on the field would not of been made due to the call being a minor infraction that posed no threat to either player. Same as football with holding, as long as it's not absurd in nature there is leway. Hence why I think the call is totally bogus. It effected the game drastically by swinging momentum.

[@Subangelis]

@@Reflectivityy Except it isn't. You don't make the rules, MLB and the owners do.

[@alanhess9306]

@@Reflectivityy You are spouting nonsense. There is no leeway for an official to ignore an infraction, no matter how absurd. Don't even attempt to tell officials how they should do the job until you don the gear and work a few games. You don't know wtf you are talking about.

[@jtthomas6446]

If he doesn't block the plate. He is still out by a mile. So we get penalized for a rule not being called the whole year? It's been called 2 times the whole year

[@Subangelis]

He still broke the rule.

[@wxbluenose]

This was the third strike. The second was Kwan getting called out at second in the fifth and NY giving call stands on what looked to be conclusive evidence to overturn the out.

[@1NobleGiant]

"He called time but that wasn't good enough" 😂 Gotta love the offended teams broadcast commentators (Cleveland in this case). Again if you want the Buster Posey Rule modified then teams need to tell their GMs to start lobbying for it

[@Art29Art29]

The commentators are always the best part of these videos. They’re so bias, it’s crazy.

[@StrivingTowardsWhatIsAhead]

As an Indians fan, our announcers are bad. Especially the color guy.

[@no_flux_given]

@@StrivingTowardsWhatIsAhead actually they’re usually very fair

[@andrewbetschman3175]

@@StrivingTowardsWhatIsAhead we have the best accouncers in MLB. Detroit is horrible.

[@paullink2676]

I love Cleveland's broadcasters(being a fan and all) but when they said "it wasn't good enough" is a terrible take. How do you judge what a "good" time call is? The third base umpire called time yeah maybe should've used two hands or waited till the pitch was delivered but non the less time was called and he got Straw out of there and went on about his job.

[@thatgirl9759]

Awesome! I was hoping you were going to cover this!

[@RWtheCarGuy2024]

At the 2:57 mark of the video, we got our money’s worth bell for the 22nd time

[@edwardhahn4911]

Cleveland fan here. I think the calls were all correct in the end, other than the failed challenge on a tag out a second for CLE (not shown, which could have gone either way).

[@lastdance2099]

Look like the umps got everything correct.

[@wesnall6796]

They always do according to this channel.

[@paullink2676]

@@wesnall6796 maybe there is a reason why

[@priceright8963]

@@wesnall6796 Not always. They've disagreed with calls here.

[@mahasw777]

@@wesnall6796 Not true. I like this channel because: 1) they cite the pertinent rules, often showing the rule on the screen and 2) stating when the umpire got it right or wrong.

[@Ray3645]

I could have sworn I heard a click sound right before the catcher caught the ball, suggesting that it was a foul tip/ball. I'm guessing that's why Barksdale called it a foul ball. But, when you look at the replay, the bat doesn't appear to hit the ball at all. So, what caused that click/tick sound? I don't get it. Did anyone else hear it?

[@Subangelis]

He did tip it, but just barely. And he was out because it was caught.

[@ronpeacock9939]

They got the call correct.. he caught it... and yes, as a plate umpire.. it's down near impossible to see that catch.. you need your partners for help.... I hate to say it, and Lindsay you'll have to look it up... we had fewer ejections for arguing balls/strikes before there was a computer involved... even when those guys used to give the braves trio 10 inches off the plate... MLB needs to do something to stop this... it's time for auto-suspensions for arguing balls/strikes... not just EJ today, but gone tomorrow too... not subject to appeal... make it automatic...

[@CloseCallSports]

You're definitely right. Ejection numbers increased the year expanded Replay Review was introduced and largely migrated to ball/strike and check swing reasons as opposed to the second-most common reason for ejection pre-replay, which was out/safe. More recently, the honeymoon period with replay appears to be over and we're seeing more Replay Review-related ejections.

[@brianmullaney6237]

For all the people saying everyone should be suspended for questioning the almighty umpire, were you planning on suspending all the officials involved when they butcher a replay? How about when the plate ump spends the night butchering the strike zone?

[@mbdg6810]

If players are that accountable for arguing then umps need to also be held accountable at a similar degree

[@ronpeacock9939]

@@mbdg6810 why? If you read the rules, they are the rules.. they are the judge and jury... LIVE WITH IT.. it's been that way for 150 years... players need to stop acting entitled because they make 7 and 8 figure salaries...We need to remember... when the players are ejected for arguing balls/strikes.. they are doing so in direct violation of the rules... the umpire having bad judgement... no rule against that... just opinion.

[@ronpeacock9939]

@@davej3781 questioning... no... arguing with.. loudly.. yes...

[@chriswesley924]

Needs to be changed a bit. That is plenty of space to slide.

[@michaelfalkner1186]

The only reason that's not another "obvious one" is that the HPU really has problems with that. Otherwise, I'd consider suspending Francona -- clear catch.

[@CoachOlsson]

These plate blocking overrules are horse shit. C'mon new york

[@Subangelis]

Think about this... The plate is completely in fair territory. Why does the catcher need to have any part of his body in foul territory before he gets the throw?

[@alanhess9306]

New York had nothing to do with it. The owners wanted this rule, so now the fans need to live with it.

[@r3d5ive87]

Who do officials continue to engage with ejected players or coaches? It’s over, they should just walk away.

[@Subangelis]

If they are ejected, play can't continue until they leave. So how much longer do you want the game to continue?

[@samowen2727]

Did Myles Straw get ejected too?

[@dl72fan]

This is insanity

[@indiansfan444444]

The play at the plate was such a weird situation. I have said before I don’t like the rule how it is enforced but what was Hedges supposed to do? There wasn’t going to be a play at the plate until the ball hit the base and there are only about 4 seconds between when the ball hit the base and the ball was recovered and thrown home. In a live situation that is barely anytime to realize what happened and adjust into a position that would be considered not blocking the plate. It’s a pure reaction play at that point. Plus was this or some of the other overturned calls really “blocking the plate” in the sense of why the rule was created? It is intended to stop the catcher from standing between the plate and runner and forcing a collision. I don’t feel the foot where it was is blockicking and the rest of his body didn’t move until after he had the ball and the runner had already slid. The way they interpret the rule it’s blocking and the call was right but it still doesn’t make it a BS rule.

[@Subangelis]

Think about this... The plate is completely in fair territory. Why does the catcher need to have any part of his body in foul territory before he gets the throw?

[@quigonkenny]

@@Subangelis To be fair, the Catcher is the only player in the game allowed (required, actually) to be in foul territory at the start of play, so him being in foul territory is not odd. That said, if there's someone on third, or the play is in such a way that someone could be rounding third and coming home, the catcher should set himself up in fair territory in anticipation of a potential throw to the plate. That way he doesn't have to worry about getting out of the way when things develop. If the throw brings him into foul territory, he's allowed to move to intercept, and maybe he gets the call or not, but if he stays in fair territory, he should be fine.

[@indiansfan444444]

@@quigonkenny this is kind of the point I was trying to make. The runner was on 2nd so there was no play until it hit the base. On the broadcast going into the break they showed an angle from behind the plate where he got up and moved forward after the ball hit the base signaling for a thrown and stopped and went down into the position we saw in the video after the ball was thrown. He really didn't have alot of time to get into fair territory to setup for the play and wasn't trying to block the plate it was where the play took him because something unexpected happened.

[@Subangelis]

@@indiansfan444444 "The runner was on 2nd so there was no play until it hit the base." Seems plenty of time to get into fair territory.

[@ItsGameOverNow]

I hate this rule I understand it is for the catcher safety. This rule is right up there with that bunting down the first based line and it hits the runner as are throwing into first because the catcher through in the foul territory.

[@Subangelis]

Think about this... The plate is completely in fair territory. Why does the catcher need to have any part of his body in foul territory before he gets the throw?

[@ItsGameOverNow]

@@davej3781 And this is come from guy that’s probably never played a game in his life or any sports. I have to I’ve seen catchers throw it back throw to first base and it goes towards the foul territory and hit the runner in the back while they’re in their lane and still get called out for inference.

[@ItsGameOverNow]

@@davej3781 nope. You’re wrong. The base is in Fair territory so the running need to come to the Field of play. There also Drop third strike.

[@matthewogle6585]

No you don't tune them out you are a professional umpire act like one yes people are going to say staff deal with it

[@Alcapone3176]

“It was obviously caught!” Needs slow motion replay to see it.

[@FactsMatter]

Let's get this absolutely clear. Francona actually screams at @2:39 "That's f*&king terrible." Actually. The call was correct. So I'm going to need some clarification on what was terrible in this situation.

[@no_flux_given]

I think he was mad about how the other umpires seemed to overturn the call when the appeal to 1B didn’t rule it caught then, on top of the other frustrations in the game

[@theheavyj8]

@Apryl Terrell nope. It’s not.

[@locustjohn3865]

What Francona was whining about is that it's terrible the umps got the call right so it went against his team.

[@theheavyj8]

@Apryl Terrell no. It’s not lol. Was actually confirmed by replay. You may not like the rule, but that doesn’t make the call incorrect.

[@xxdazedxx1550]

I mean like they said, he’s been mad since the 1st inning. I would honestly have to agree. Ik that this call was right but if your mad since the 1st, by that time you jus don’t give two shits.

[@a_badali]

Lance Barksdale the star of the 2019 world series, horrendous.

[@MrGoldman2323]

For the love of sweet baby Jesus, this rule is really getting old. It’s quite simple really, stay off the tracks when the trains coming…if the catcher gets run over, 9/10 times it’s his own fault.

[@mrlee6895]

I absolutely love it when Francona blows his top! You know then that the umpire deserved it.

[@alanhess9306]

Francona was totally wrong here. The umpires got together and got the call right. Francona once again proves he is an incompetent moron.

[@collinmcinnes6953]

This posey rule is so incredibly broken beyond repair. The whole point is for the runner to have a lane to the plate, and this runner has a very clear lane to the back "point" of the plate, which has been regarding on this channel as "not a plate block," regardless of the 2 inches the cathers foot is in foul territory. The goalposts for this rule change quite literally every other week, rewrite it or get rid of it.

[@jsmith5641]

I get the rule to a point but if the runner starts is sliding in than the catcher should be allowed to block the plate. Its rare now to see a player come barreling into home plate like Pete Rose

[@Subangelis]

Think about this... The plate is completely in fair territory. Why does the catcher need to have any part of his body in foul territory before he gets the throw? And, no he didn't have a very clear lane to the back "point" of the plate.

[@reaper12b15]

@@Subangelis Ya see, I would argue that he did! It’s starting to look like that it’s 9 times outta 10 in a plate blocking call that’s overturned to “safe” because of “blocking”, it was NOT the right call! The original “out” at the plate was the correct one! We can just agree to disagree but BOTH agree this rule needs to go or have a complete overhaul!

[@teewertz]

it's not about agreeing to disagree. You're just wrong

[@Subangelis]

@@reaper12b15 It isn't the correct call because the rule says it isn't. The rulebook doesn't take your feelings into account. The rule doesn't need to go or have an overhaul. Cather's just need to learn the rule. It's not that hard. Don't block the plate.

[@TakeAmericaBack2010]

Some Umpires and a lot of rules are disgusting

[@alanhess9306]

Some players and a lot of casual fans are disgusting.

[@SidEffecT883]

Unfortunately sometimes calls whether they’re correct or not don’t go a managers way so blood just boils over. To be fair on the other hand umpires are just disabled sometimes and can’t make the correct call the first time so people get mad lol!

[@martingingerich8830]

I'm sorry but that call at the plate was bad. He had a clear path

[@Subangelis]

No, he didn't.

[@hailstate74]

Lance Barksdale is one of the best umpires in the league.

[@Jamieegenti]

That's the right call!! The catcher caught it!!

[@danielhetue6968]

I think you’re right, Jamie Egenti. He caught it according to a different camera angle.

[@alanhess9306]

@@danielhetue6968 He caught it according to every camera angle.

[@Niel2760]

Lindsay, this is completely anecdotal but it seems like these plays at the plate are always called as outs in real time before being overturned. Do you think this is accurate? Do you think that umpires are having a difficult time seeing it or are they just calling it like they see it and letting replay overturning as necessary?

[@LindsayImber1]

Umpires have been instructed to call out/safe on the field and let Replay handle the collision rule aspect.

[@chuckinhouston9952]

Get rid of this Buster Posey rule please! Let real men play the game the way the Lord intended.

[@TheSjuris]

This just in tbe lord has now said that chuckyhouston is going to take the throws to the plate and he wants to be runover at full speed by Aaron Judge if he cries or gets hurt then so sad to bad cant be replaced.

[@mbdg6810]

The rule just need to be reworded. “A lane” should not be so strict to where any piece of plate blocked is a violation.

[@TheSjuris]

@@mbdg6810 the catcher had the entire bag to stand on. The runner had no path to it since the catcher had blocked it. Next time Baez should have slid into him spikes head high and kicked the catcher off. Hopefully he sharpened the slikes so sharp that a cook could have used it to cut through a thick filet.

[@no_flux_given]

@@TheSjuris psycho

[@TheSjuris]

@@no_flux_givenif you want it changed then dont cry when your catcher gets really hurt. If he does who cares.he can just suck it up and play with broken bones.

[@priceright8963]

Looks like Cleveland and Minnesota are even now. One can only hope the White Sox don't win by one game now. For the record, this rule stinks, but New York got it right.

[@StrivingTowardsWhatIsAhead]

Exactly. I thought the same.

[@xxdazedxx1550]

I don’t blame him for arguing (the players)

[@alanhess9306]

I blame him because every Cleveland player/coach was wrong.

[@r.a.contrerasma8578]

They should make managers get the gear on. Let's get a crew of the worst four yappers: Boone, Francona, Matheny, and Hinch. (They wouldn't last an inning.)

[@nathanwhite5671]

I am a Guardians fan, and I was angry at the players, not the umps when I watched this game. Hedges blocked the plate, and Straw is a terrible hitter. The umpires can't help it if you don't execute your job properly.

[@spencerathearn3586]

I got a feeling the rule is gonna be changed during the off season

[@galatcompuertorico8461]

Good job!

[@bsdsooner]

At this point, any play at the plate should be called safe. The chance of any catcher playing it correctly is almost zero. If that play is a plate block, then catchers have absolutely no chance.

[@mptr1783]

yet 1st basemen can do it without blocking the base

[@CoachOlsson]

@@mptr1783 first basemen tag runners these days???

[@mptr1783]

@@CoachOlsson sometimes they do yes. Ok, 2nd basemen and shortstops have no problem not blocking 2nd base on steal attempts. Times yours

[@Subangelis]

Think about this... The plate is completely in fair territory. Why does the catcher need to have any part of his body in foul territory before he gets the throw?

[@mptr1783]

@@CoachOlsson guess youve never seen a bad throw pull a 1st baseman off the bag?

[@devinbrown1775]

I got a question: Is this ejection for arguing balls and strikes?

[@LegionOfBlues901]

I personally think Francona was more mad about the call being overturned to technically...yes? Kinda sorta?

[@alanhess9306]

@@LegionOfBlues901 Francona has no reason to be mad when the umpires get the call correct.

[@sonic-qh7ed]

prob the worst umpiring crew of season so far. just made horrible calls.

[@alanhess9306]

There were two plays that were shown in this video and both were called correctly. Your comment has no basis in fact.

[@sonic-qh7ed]

Thanks for your opinion. Not that it matters

[@alanhess9306]

@@sonic-qh7ed It's not an opinion, it is fact backed by the rules which you obviously don't know.

[@sonic-qh7ed]

Please go away. Your opinion means nothing to me. Prob anyone else u talk too. Lol

[@alanhess9306]

@@sonic-qh7ed Until you learn the rules, stay out of baseball discussions instead of showing your ignorance.

[@joshuawood362]

well, in my mind, i think hes arguing the last point because they other umps in the field didnt have a better view or angle on that call.

[@alanhess9306]

Apparently one of them saw it clear enough so the call was changed.

[@joshuawood362]

@@alanhess9306 I don't think so, I've umpires b4...not mlb level obviously...hard to see that in the field

[@alanhess9306]

@@joshuawood362 True, but why would the umpires change the original call? If no other umpire was sure, the original call should have stood.

[@joshuawood362]

@@alanhess9306 maybe they wanted to end the game and GTFO

[@tracycc123]

Hmm I saw a replay of the home plate call in the first, and I didn't see Terry Francona get the thumb when he came out to argue the reversed call. Whats up with that?

[@no_flux_given]

Seemed like HP appealed to 1B who didn’t rule it caught, so I think Tito is angry that somehow in the conference they were able to overturn

[@tracycc123]

@@no_flux_given Yep I saw that part. I'm talking about the first inning review at home plate. Mr Francona came out to argue the reversal, He did not get thrown out. I wonder why if it's an auto thumb why didn't he get that?

[@no_flux_given]

@@tracycc123 oh my bad, I didn’t see that

[@tracycc123]

@@no_flux_given I saw it on FB yesterday. I hate the fact that I do not have cable so I can watch the Tigers. I do however get to listen to them! Brings back childhood memories when I'd go to our grandparents house and listen to Ernie call the game.

[@markkachenmeister8579]

Thats what I was thinking...Francona should have been gone

[@bananaland5445]

This rule needs to be removed

[@franktank9511]

I THINK THIS CALL IS A LITTLE BIT BULL $HIT - THROW MAY HAVE BEEN FROM GRASS , BUT IT WAS AN infielder that threw it, rule doesnt apply to infield - bull$hit

[@vw8886]

I want the rule changed!

[@Subangelis]

Become an owner

[@CptMunson15]

This rule is complete hogwash . Where are catchers supposed to stand and receive throws ?? In the dugouit ? Ridiculous :(

[@sacrilegiousboi]

I don't think anyone cares about getting ejected that's why there should be a harsher punishment

[@4HBirtcher]

2nd time terry got disqualified from the game!

[@GiuseppeGaetanoSabatelli]

It's weird though, with the automatic ejection on arguing overturned calls rule, he would have been ejected the very first step out of the dugout, or at least the very first breath out of his mouth. Since it's an automatic ejection, that pretty much means there's no reason to hold back at all when going to cuss out an umpire lol

[@GotjoK3s]

LAST MYLES STRAW FOR THE GUY UH? Haha

[@ScottysAir]

Wow! He’s ejected!! You outta here!! Bye bye suckers!

[@elarson312]

Eject the announcers.

[@cbarns86]

Umps flat out won for Detroit but whatever

[@Subangelis]

Nope, Cleveland lost it for Detriot.

[@cbarns86]

@@Subangelis Bullshit Umps should have just wore Tiger jerseys but go on lying

[@priceright8963]

@@cbarns86 Subangelis is a troll. Would not engage.

[@alanhess9306]

@@cbarns86 Everyone wants the umpires to get the calls correct, unless it goes against your team. There were two calls that were correct in this video and Francona throws a fit. He earned his ejection. Stop your crying little boy.

[@alanhess9306]

@@priceright8963 He knows the rules far better than you do.

[@floatinflyinandfishing]

oh look miles straw exploding again…wonder if he gets a suspension this time since it was not a yankees fan

[@deronwhite2827]

Bad umpires and bad rules are making a game I used to unwatchable. Very sad. Owners and Manfred Haye ruined the game.

[@bluebird9903]

MLB has an one-day umpire tryout camp next weekend, you'd be a good candidate for that.

[@mptr1783]

@@bluebird9903 and a 2-day spelling and grammar class as well

[@Subangelis]

@@bluebird9903 - No, he really wouldn't.

[@uwsbus]

If Porter can’t do his job because of people yelling in the dugout on this he’s soft as can be. Porter is confrontational to a fault

[@alanhess9306]

There is no need for the umpire to have to listen to a loud mouth ignorant crybaby in the dugout. Porter did his job.

[@jacobrichardson1952]

Just like Indians days 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂

[@dahillbillynews5923]

AGAIN if the catcher had setup with a foot on the front side of the plate he would have avoided the reversal and still had room to apply the tag and get the out. If I were a MLB manager I would be focusing on this in spring training spending a LOAD OF TIME to get catchers trained and ready for the season to avoid these issues. How in the hell does the manager even see this play from the dugout and how can he even argue it is only 1 of 27 outs and he needs to manage instead of getting ejected. If an outfielder tries to make a catch and bobbles the ball and falls down and bobbles the ball some more but catches it before it hits the ground isn't that still an out so the little bobble by the catcher is still an out or is there an exclusion for catchers.

[@williamsampson4460]

The entire Cleveland team, fans, manager, and announcers were salty sore losers and the the umps actually got everything right on these calls.

[@michaelfalkner1186]

And that's definitely suspendable in the dugout. I'm sorry -- but the leagues need to start suspending when it's clear that there's going to be "contact" and the like. When you have that kind of a wrestling match to keep someone out of the fray, that's a game or two.

[@SamJones-cz3ds]

How are these announcers just so clueless?

[@bluejaysbaseball]

Naturally the loss is always the umps fault. Guardians, why don’t you focus on scoring more than 3 runs against one of the worst teams in baseball?

[@stc_cupcake2462]

Bro get outta here. You can’t score 5 runs every game. It happens. The umps didn’t help at all. The calls weren’t the best and there were a few big calls, maybe start watching the guardians before u talk shit?

[@alanhess9306]

@@stc_cupcake2462 The Guardians suck. It is not the job of the umpires to help the Guardians. The calls in the video were correct.