The ball bounced to Elvis Andrus so beautifully that Albert Pujols, the runner at first base, peeled halfway seconds. It was as routine as a double play ball, maybe. Until it was not.
Ian Kinsler, the player base Texas Rangers second who had already made his second error of the World Series, threw high to first baseman Mike Napoli. Matt Holliday, who hit the ball to the St. Louis Cardinals could have slid into first to avoid the label. But he remained standing, allowing Napoli to turn and tag him on the shoulder, one step before it crossed the base.
However, Holliday was considered safe, and he began to score the first run of a four-run rally in the fourth inning of the Cardinals' 16-7 victory in the merry game 3 to Rangers Ballpark.
Pujols has made history, tying a single game record for World Series hits, homers and runs batted in. But the call was first blown a disheartening reminder that baseball can and should, make the game better.
It took a few seconds for people to notice that the first base umpire Ron Kulpa, is a native of St. Louis. Before the round was over, someone had updated the Wikipedia page Kulpa noted that it had "the worst call in the history of Major League Baseball."
Well, in this regard. Kulpa is the same referee who has done a great job in Game 2 when he called specifically Kinsler safe at second on a flight critical in the ninth inning. No bias is cardinal. Kulpa and it was not - and certainly not a base runner coming either - that caused bad Kinsler was thrown.
After watching a replay, Kulpa acknowledged that he made the call wrong. "I had him on the basis of its label at the time," he said. "I had a tag, but I got to the base."
Yet it was not even in the most egregious call at first base in a game of Cardinals World Series. In the ninth inning of Game 6 in 1985 with St. Louis tries to close a championship in Kansas City, the referee Don Denkinger called Jorge Orta safe at first. The Royals capitalized on this error, and blunders later by the Cardinals to win the game and then the series.
Denkinger lived in infamy for this call, no matter his job behind the plate six years later, Jack Morris in Game 7 masterpiece. History reminds Denkinger the goat, Bartman Steve as the Cubs fan who intervened with a foul ball in the sixth game of the series 2003 national championship. Bartman had nothing to do with the game miserable Cubs immediately following, but he wears horns.
We do not know if the Rangers will recover to win the World Series and make a note Kulpa. Whatever happens, he deserves no blame. Rangers pitching crumbled and the Cardinals' offense rumbled. Napoli made a mistake of throwing two points at the top of the fourth, and with better slides into the bottom of the sleeve, he could have scored on Kinsler to fly to the left.
This loss was squarely on the Rangers, but the error Kulpa highlights a problem facing every baseball series. Missed calls are part of each game all season. But they are amplified with increased coverage and audience.
The referees make a bruise in October, especially with virtual strike zones displayed on the screen throughout the playoffs. Commissioner Bud Selig said he supports this kind of technology, which is to his credit, because it improves the viewer experience. However, Selig also conducted cautiously with Instant Replay.
Since the end of the 2008 season, baseball Instant Replay was used only for calls to the limitations associated with home runs. Plays on the bases are exempt, although they also could be considered the same way. Selig and Joe Torre, president of baseball executive vice president for field operations, said that more could replay the game even longer, a legitimate concern.
But there must be a way. Perhaps, for the playoffs, a referee supervisor would be stationed in the press area - or better yet, the broadcast truck, with instant access to all camera angles. If a call on the bases is clearly wrong, the supervisor may contact the plate umpire before the next at-bat begins.
The game deserves better, especially in the playoffs, with such a challenge. The referees deserve better, too. An error committed by a player can not be reversed by technology. An error by an arbitrator may, if baseball does not allow.
In any case, a team that allows 16 tracks has no business winning, and the hot air of their magnitude board, the Rangers were powerless against the best offense in the National League.
The Rangers have worked to reverse the stereotype in their DNA as a franchise that needs slugs his way to win. They won with defense, pitching and base running in thrilling Game 2 at Busch Stadium, but it was the kind of game they played ten years ago: a lot of runs for the Rangers, but much more to the opposition.
As a result of this, not a bad call by Kulpa, the Rangers find themselves in the same place as they were against the San Francisco Giants a year ago. They are right in the World Series, two games to one, with two more games at home. They lost both last season and watched the Giants celebrate in their fleet.
Ian Kinsler, the player base Texas Rangers second who had already made his second error of the World Series, threw high to first baseman Mike Napoli. Matt Holliday, who hit the ball to the St. Louis Cardinals could have slid into first to avoid the label. But he remained standing, allowing Napoli to turn and tag him on the shoulder, one step before it crossed the base.
However, Holliday was considered safe, and he began to score the first run of a four-run rally in the fourth inning of the Cardinals' 16-7 victory in the merry game 3 to Rangers Ballpark.
Pujols has made history, tying a single game record for World Series hits, homers and runs batted in. But the call was first blown a disheartening reminder that baseball can and should, make the game better.
It took a few seconds for people to notice that the first base umpire Ron Kulpa, is a native of St. Louis. Before the round was over, someone had updated the Wikipedia page Kulpa noted that it had "the worst call in the history of Major League Baseball."
Well, in this regard. Kulpa is the same referee who has done a great job in Game 2 when he called specifically Kinsler safe at second on a flight critical in the ninth inning. No bias is cardinal. Kulpa and it was not - and certainly not a base runner coming either - that caused bad Kinsler was thrown.
After watching a replay, Kulpa acknowledged that he made the call wrong. "I had him on the basis of its label at the time," he said. "I had a tag, but I got to the base."
Yet it was not even in the most egregious call at first base in a game of Cardinals World Series. In the ninth inning of Game 6 in 1985 with St. Louis tries to close a championship in Kansas City, the referee Don Denkinger called Jorge Orta safe at first. The Royals capitalized on this error, and blunders later by the Cardinals to win the game and then the series.
Denkinger lived in infamy for this call, no matter his job behind the plate six years later, Jack Morris in Game 7 masterpiece. History reminds Denkinger the goat, Bartman Steve as the Cubs fan who intervened with a foul ball in the sixth game of the series 2003 national championship. Bartman had nothing to do with the game miserable Cubs immediately following, but he wears horns.
We do not know if the Rangers will recover to win the World Series and make a note Kulpa. Whatever happens, he deserves no blame. Rangers pitching crumbled and the Cardinals' offense rumbled. Napoli made a mistake of throwing two points at the top of the fourth, and with better slides into the bottom of the sleeve, he could have scored on Kinsler to fly to the left.
This loss was squarely on the Rangers, but the error Kulpa highlights a problem facing every baseball series. Missed calls are part of each game all season. But they are amplified with increased coverage and audience.
The referees make a bruise in October, especially with virtual strike zones displayed on the screen throughout the playoffs. Commissioner Bud Selig said he supports this kind of technology, which is to his credit, because it improves the viewer experience. However, Selig also conducted cautiously with Instant Replay.
Since the end of the 2008 season, baseball Instant Replay was used only for calls to the limitations associated with home runs. Plays on the bases are exempt, although they also could be considered the same way. Selig and Joe Torre, president of baseball executive vice president for field operations, said that more could replay the game even longer, a legitimate concern.
But there must be a way. Perhaps, for the playoffs, a referee supervisor would be stationed in the press area - or better yet, the broadcast truck, with instant access to all camera angles. If a call on the bases is clearly wrong, the supervisor may contact the plate umpire before the next at-bat begins.
The game deserves better, especially in the playoffs, with such a challenge. The referees deserve better, too. An error committed by a player can not be reversed by technology. An error by an arbitrator may, if baseball does not allow.
In any case, a team that allows 16 tracks has no business winning, and the hot air of their magnitude board, the Rangers were powerless against the best offense in the National League.
The Rangers have worked to reverse the stereotype in their DNA as a franchise that needs slugs his way to win. They won with defense, pitching and base running in thrilling Game 2 at Busch Stadium, but it was the kind of game they played ten years ago: a lot of runs for the Rangers, but much more to the opposition.
As a result of this, not a bad call by Kulpa, the Rangers find themselves in the same place as they were against the San Francisco Giants a year ago. They are right in the World Series, two games to one, with two more games at home. They lost both last season and watched the Giants celebrate in their fleet.
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