As reported here on Call to the Pen early Friday morning, last night the Oakland Athletics finished their game under protest because of a play in the ninth inning involving Athletics’ first baseman Brandon Moss, pitcher Dan Otero and the Los Angeles Angels’ shortstop Erick Aybar. They have now decided not to pursue the protest.
A’s beat reporter for MLB.com, Jane Lee, reported earlier via Twitter that the Athletics have decided to drop the protest because the call was a judgement call made by the umpires and it really wasn’t worth the time it would take to pursue the protest when it would likely not be upheld.
A's drop protest, say in statement they determined "the call in question was a judgment call and not worthy of pursuing further."
— Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) August 29, 2014
That is not to say that the call was correct on the field. NBC Sport’s Hardball Talk’s Craig Calcaterra summed it up well when he wrote,
"“Probably the right call [by the A’s]. Even if the call on the field was blown, it was a judgment call by the umps so nothing was going to come of it.”"
Protests are almost never upheld with the lone exception being this season in a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs.
The Tampa Bay Rays recently protested a game in which they believed that the Blue Jays were granted a late review, after the pitcher had already returned to the mound. As part of the expanded replay rules if the pitcher has returned to the mound neither team can challenge the previous play.
However the Rays protest was denied as it was a judgment call made by the umpires, just as the Athletics describe the incident in their statement. Regardless of if the umpires were right in either game, judgment calls in the moment are not likely to be upheld.
Even though the video shows that the runner was clearly out for numerous reasons, Moss told Lee that the play should have been reviewble.
Day after, Moss clarifies no one at fault but says the play itself absolutely needs to be reviewable.
— Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) August 29, 2014
Here’s what the play looked like so you can decide for yourself what you believe to have happened.
The play in the ninth should absolutely have been reviewable. It would have save a lot of time for a lot of people. The new expanded replay has been working very well this season and perhaps should be expanded further so that these types of situations do not occur.