One had to imagine that any postseason that involved the likes of Angel Hernandez, Joe West, and Ted Barrett would involve some sort of umpiring issue. What was not expected was that the San Francisco Giants would see their season end on a check swing call by the heretofore unknown Gabe Morales.
As Wilmer Flores attempted to hold up on what would be the final strike of the game, Morales ruled that he went. At the time, he felt that he made the correct call based on how he saw the bat go through the zone. As for crew chief Ted Barrett?
Asked if he still thought he made the right call, crew chief Ted Barrett answered: "Yeah, no, we, yeah, yeah, he doesn't want to say."
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) October 15, 2021
San Francisco Giants victimized by horrendous umpiring
So…what did Barrett say? Is he essentially admitting that was the wrong call after the fact, and that one of the more thrilling postseason series in years came to an end due to a missed call? Is this the moment that Morales ends up in the same circles as those other incompetent umpires, or just joins the likes of Don Denkinger?
In the end, it is unfortunate that this series had to take place anyway. The Giants won 107 games this year, barely taking the division over the Dodgers. Their reward was to face those 106 game winning Dodgers in the NLDS, hardly anything that should have happened.
The series certainly had its share of drama. Logan Webb became a star, while Darin Ruf will never have to purchase another beer in San Francisco again. Mookie Betts continued to dominate, and Cody Bellinger overcame a horrendous regular season to drive in the series winning run.
But in the end, it has all been overshadowed. One check swing, and the subsequent call against the Giants, ended the series, causing all of those excellent performances to be overlooked. And frankly, even the umpires were left speechless.
The San Francisco Giants were victimized by a horrendous call. Would they have won anyway? No one knows, but they did not get the chance.