Let me start by saying that I’m not a baseball umpire. You should also know that in no way am I a Yankees fan. In fact, I’d probably lean more towards a Yankee hater than a fan. I am a sports official and will typically take the umpire’s side of most arguments.
Jeter attempts a steal of third base in the first inning. The throw was good and beat Jeter to the bag. On the slide, however, Jeter got his hand around the tag and should have been called safe. Now, I (and the entire viewing public) have the advantage of slow-motion and replays. The umpire does not have this luxury. Life would be much simpler if we could watch the game on the field in slow-motion and multiple times.
I have no issue with him being called Out at third. It was a close play, and in real time from the umpire’s angle, I could definitely see where he would make that call. If what Jeter is saying is true, however, I do have a problem with. Unfortunately, only one side of the story is available. The umpire was not made available for comment after the game. What Jeter claims was said was that he “didn’t have to be tagged to be out” as long as the ball beats the player to the base. What he should have said was something along the lines of, “from my angle it appeared as though he tagged your right/left hand before it got to the base”. Players understand that the officials don’t always have the best angle and try their best to make the right call. Alternatively, he could have talked it over with the other umpires and overturned the call. Sure, this would have made him look bad, but it would have resulted in the correct call being made. This, of course, assumes that the umpire knew he blew the call.
The rules are there for a reason. What the umpire basically told Jeter was that the rule that you have to be tagged out, which is clearly indicated in Rule 7.08 c & e, is not actually the rule. The actual rule, which I could find nowhere in the rule book, was that if the ball is there first and close to the runner, the runner shall be declared out.
Baseball has several unwritten rules, including this one. The problem with these rules is that they are called very inconsistently. Some umpires, on some days, choose to “enforce” the unwritten rules. In reality, the umpire should just enforce the actual rule. It is simpler to enforce a rule when you can point to it in a book. Sure, in this case, had he called Jeter safe, he may have had an argument with the Blue Jays’ manager. The difference is that in this argument he would have been able to use the rule book in his defense. That’s what it’s there for.
The other most notable unwritten rule in baseball is, of course, the double play rule. I think, if it were to be written, it would read something along the lines of ”in a play where there is a force at second base, the defensive player covering the base will only need to be in the vicinity of the base prior to making a throw to first base. Actually making contact with the base after having caught the ball shall be optional”.
Tags: baseball, blown call, blue jays, derek jeter, Officiating, umpire, yankees