Controversial calls that your team was a part of

[HedleyLamarr]

2012 wild card game, the "Outfield Fly" that still infuriates me.

Leads me to my team's "for". Although technically within the rules (when an infielder is under the ball no matter where he's at), I then and still do disagree with it. The real egregious part is how long the umpire waited to signal it, which did allow Kozma to get "under" it. Though it was a 6-3 game at the time, the difference between bases loaded with nobody out and second and third with one out can be pretty big in a winner-take-all playoff game.

However, not as bad as my team's "against":

Don frickin Denkinger.

Was gonna say these two.

And yeah, the IF fly call was right according to rule, and I'm not sure the rule is bad. This was just a rare case when the rule looked bad because Kozma thought Holliday was calling him off so he moved and the ball dropped. But it was easily playable for the IFer, and thus the call.

The call looked bad because the shortstop was at least 60 feet behind the infield dirt.

The call looked bad because it was a bad call.

[McCall]

Doesn't matter. If the infielder is determined to be under the ball, wherever it is, and capable of making the catch ordinarily, it's an infield fly.

Rule 2.00 (Infield Fly) Comment: On the infield fly rule the umpire is to rule whether the ball could ordinarily have been handled by an infielder not by some arbitrary limitation such as the grass, or the base lines. The umpire must rule also that a ball is an infield fly, even if handled by an outfielder, if, in the umpires judgment, the ball could have been as easily handled by an infielder. The infield fly is in no sense to be considered an appeal play. The umpires judgment must govern, and the decision should be made immediately.

When an infield fly rule is called, runners may advance at their own risk. If on an infield fly rule, the infielder intentionally drops a fair ball, the ball remains in play despite the provisions of Rule 6.05 (L). The infield fly rule takes precedence.

Now in this case, I think the umpire making the call late is was allowed Kozma to at least "appear" to be under it.

[HedleyLamarr]

Except that it wasn't an ordinary, routine, "with little effort" play. Holliday was playing uber-deep (no-doubles defense, I assume), and Kozma was never camped under the ball. And the call was made by the umpire in the outfield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAbIEkZU2TY

Not only was Kozma in constant motion the entire time, he threw up both his arms like he lost it in the lights/twilight. And Holliday was nowhere near the ball. Not an Infield Fly.

[STL FANATIC]

Kozma may not have stopped moving, but he was directly under the ball and signaling that he had it before stepping forward when he thought he heard Holliday calling him off.

The call gets made as soon as he reaches that point under the ball while it's still high in the air.

Harold Reynolds had the best breakdown that night, including an example of the exact same play up to the point of the call.

http://m.mlb.com/video/v25339817/harold-reynolds-talks-about-the-infield-fly-rule

The call is 50/50 at worst, and easily defended. It's horrendously unfortunate for the Braves (although the "hit" itself would have been extremely fortunate, so there's that), but the call is within the rule and within precedent.

And if it had happened to my team, I still wouldn't have stopped b****ing about it.

[(probably)notabandwagonfan]

Kozma may not have stopped moving, but he was directly under the ball and signaling that he had it before stepping forward when he thought he heard Holliday calling him off.

The call gets made as soon as he reaches that point under the ball while it's still high in the air.

Harold Reynolds had the best breakdown that night, including an example of the exact same play up to the point of the call.

http://m.mlb.com/video/v25339817/harold-reynolds-talks-about-the-infield-fly-rule

The call is 50/50 at worst, and easily defended. It's horrendously unfortunate for the Braves (although the "hit" itself would have been extremely fortunate, so there's that), but the call is within the rule and within precedent.

And if it had happened to my team, I still wouldn't have stopped b****ing about it.

Harold Reynolds is pretty awful when it comes to anything outside avg, rbis, and hrs. Besides that, I see the reasoning, but Kozma truly was never camped, and he was moving away from the spot when Sam effing Holbrook decided to call the outfield fly. If a manager decided to put his third baseman out in right field (like true right field) with a tough lefty up in an infield fly situation, and the ball is hit in the vicinity of him, would that too be an infield fly? The point in the rule is so the infielder doest intentionally drop the ball to get the double or triple play, which Kozma had no chance of turning.

[4thandPunt]

For: 2003 Fiesta Bowl Ohio State vs. Miami. I think pass interference was the wrong call because what I see is clearly defensive holding. Wouldn't have mattered if they called it right because the result would have been the same.

Against: Bottlegate. Was the play before a reception? No. Was a play run before a review was called? Yes. Screw Terry McAulay.

[nuordr]

Tuck rule

I was at that game and I am glad it went in the Patriots favor.

[wonderbread]

Tuck rule

I was at that game and I am glad it went in the Patriots favor.

I remember the power going out and having to watch the game in my step dads van

[TrueYankee26]

Jeffery Maier game (For), 2003 Fiesta Bowl Pass Interference (Against) which was already mentioned a lot of times on this thread.

For: Chris Jones of the Patriots pushing a teammate in an attempt to block a 56 yard kick, flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, which gave us better field position for Folk to nail the next FG to give us a win last year at the Meadowlands. The controversy part is that the unsportsmanlike for such an action is rarely called. Didn't really matter much in the long run as Jets missed playoffs that year and Patriots win the AFC East (again)

Against: September 2012 in the middle of the AL East race, Baltimore Orioles turn a controversial game ending DP where Jerry Meals calls Mark Teixeira out at 1st though clearly safe:

Though how us Yankee fans that night reacted was siimilar to O's fans in the Jeffery Maier game.