Looking at the 6-1 final score, it wouldn’t seem as though Tuesday’s game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels was particularly tense. But despite earning the victory, the Blue Jays were on the wrong end of a bad call.
That led to criticism from both team’s announcers, particularly Wayne Randazzo and Mark Gubicza, calling the game for the Angels on Bally Sports West.
With nobody on and one out in the top of the seventh inning, Toronto’s George Springer came to the plate. Springer claimed that the 1-2 offering from Angels pitcher Kenny Rosenberg hit his back foot. While home plate umpire Manny González initially ruled that it didn’t, replays showed that the ball changed direction, something that wouldn’t have happened without hitting Springer. So, it seemed all but assured that, when the play went to review, Springer would be awarded first base. Only, he wasn’t. The call on the field stood. A frustrated Springer argued and was quickly ejected.
The sequence triggered a commentary from Randazzo.
“This is the problem with replay and Major League Baseball’s replay reviews,” Randazzo said. “Because it has to be extremely obvious. And if it’s not extremely obvious, they don’t overturn them. We’ve seen it so many times. And now here is a player, George Springer, irate, when he was clearly hit in the foot.”
“Yeah. There’s no way that George Springer’s doing that unless he knows that he got hit by that pitch,” Gubicza added.
“It’s hard to tell on a hit-by-pitch on the replays,” Randazzo said. “It just is. Yes. There’s every reason to think he was hit by the pitch. The ball completely changed directions. Really, I think Springer’s more upset with the umpires that are here than the replay officials.”
“He’s saying ‘You should have been able to see that, Manny González,'” an agreeing Gubicza said. “That’s why he was so frustrated.”
Calling the game for the Blue Jays on Sportsnet in Canada, Buck Martinez and Caleb Joseph had a similar reaction.
“What? No way,” Joseph said, before essentially calling for Springer to get tossed. “If I’m George Springer, I’m getting ejected from this game. I know it’s not them. But there is no way. That ball hit George Springer’s foot and directionally changed.”
Springer was ejected moments later. Blue Jays manager John Schneider came out to continue the argument, while Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tried to restrain Springer.
“González might have said something that really tripped the trigger of Springer because he is hot,” Martinez said. “You don’t see George this hot very often and I bet you the umpire said something to him. George was hit, in his mind, and didn’t get the call via review. But you don’t see George lose it the way he did right there.”
Joseph, who, like Martinez, was a catcher, shed more light on why Springer was likely angry with González.
“I would be heated, too, because that ball absolutely hit him,” Joseph said. “And some people might say, why is he frustrated with Manny González? He’s not the one who decided via replay. Well, the home plate umpire is right there. And I heard a thud. And Manny González is about a foot away from George Springer.”
[Photo Credit: Bally Sports West]
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