San Diego Padres completely robbed of baseball playoffs by sham umpiring: A golf destination done wrong
Add commentsAh, the first day of the major league baseball playoffs - the time when golf clubhouses mercifully switch off the infomercials and European Tour replays of the Golf Channel and put on actual live sports. Baseball’s playoffs also give golfers even more of an excuse to stick around long after their round and rack up a bar bill that Peter O’Toole could appreciate.
This year, the baseball playoffs are a complete sham though. The events of Monday night in Colorado should leave a stain on everything that comes after. The Colorado Rockies were awarded the last spot in the playoffs by one of the worst officiating calls in any sport ever. Even NBA betting referee Tim Donaghy thinks the call the home plate umpire Tim McClelland made at the plate was ridiculous.
For those who didn’t watch the game, the Rockies Matt Holliday was called safe when he never came close to touching the plate with one out in the bottom of the 13th in a 8-8 game. In fact, Holliday got about as close to the plate as the secret service would let O.J. Simpson get to George Bush. This was one of the easiest home plate calls an umpire will ever have.
Padres catcher Michael Barrett did a great job of blocking the entire plate. Holliday slide about as wild as I hit a golf ball and lay on the ground afterwards like the biggest punk ever, not even reaching over for the plate. Heck, Brad Hawpe, who was on deck, later admitted he was screaming at Holliday to touch the plate because he knew he’d missed it.
McClelland surely heard these screams of Holliday’s own teammate and still gave a very, very, very slow delayed safe call. Good thing he took the time to … GET IT COMPLETELY WRONG!
I’m no Padres honk. San Diego’s a great golf destination, but hardly a super compelling baseball town. Still right is right and this wrong means Bud Selig’s entire playoffs are suspect. And WorldGolf.com’s Brandon Tucker is always complaining about basketball’s refs?
Baseball’s playoffs are marred. … Which still makes them a better clubhouse watch than most of the Golf Channel’s fare.
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Jason Scott Deegan:
The Accidental Golfer:
Katharine Dyson:
Kiel Christianson:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_rules/foreword.jspnot. A defensive player cannot prevent a players right to the base without possession of the ball. Holliday would have been awarded home plate whether he touched it or not, and a replay would've confirmed that. What are you smoking?