MLB rules: Checked swings should not be judgment calls

Here we are yet again, during a lockout, thinking about a critical MLB postseason game decided by umpires instead of players.

Think back to Game 5 of the National League Division Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. A controversial checked swing strike three call against San Francisco’s Wilmer Flores on a Max Scherzer pitch ended the contest, sending the Dodgers to the NLCS and the Giants into the offseason earlier than their National League West rivals.

You can see the controversial check swing in the video below.

It’s time for MLB at-bats to not be decided by a checked swing that are basically judgment calls

In truth, the Giants had plenty of opportunities to win the game on their own before the umpires took matters into their own hands. Plus, the Dodgers, according to ESPN, had a 92% chance of winning the game before Flores came to the plate. Even if the call had gone the other way, the count would have been one ball and two strikes, and that was still Scherzer on the mound.

Still, when you watch a game, do you find yourself guessing on check swing calls before the appeal? How often do you guess wrong? Half? It’s not you. There is no set standard in the rule book as to what constitutes a swing, which leaves the call entirely to the discretion of the umpire, who is standing at least 90 feet away and could have his view obscured by baserunners or fielders. If you’re guessing wrong, maybe it’s because the umpire is guessing as well.

It’s sort of like the strike zone. How many pitches during this postseason hit the catcher’s glove outside of the strike zone superimposed on the screen by at least the diameter of the ball, only to be called strikes? Is there a reason for that? Is that the strike zone or not? Is the strike zone based on where the ball crosses the plate? It is the front of the plate or back of the plate? Is the strike zone three-dimensional or a flat rectangle? Is Aaron Judge’s strike zone twice as large as Jose Altuve’s? Is that fair, if it is? Would it change if he crouched? We don’t know the answer to any of these with real certainty, because the rule is vague and applied inconsistently.

Of the major sports, baseball should be the easiest to officiate. There’s nothing to compare to the endless controversies around pass interference in the NFL, or charging/blocking in the NBA, or pretty much every penalty in the NHL. Those are all judgment calls, and the inconsistency with which they are called reflects the vagueness of the standard.

There is no logical reason for baseball to have any calls like that … at least not that come into play on a regular basis. Fan interference, balks, and maybe a trapped line drive here and there, but those happen once a week, especially now that most fans are stuck behind protective nets. Check swings, though, happen several times a game, and are called with randomness that indicates a lack of consensus among umpires as to what the rule actually is.

What is the fix? Breaking the wrists? I don’t know what that means and, clearly, it’s not a rigorous enough standard to be ruled on in real time from 90 feet away. A better standard would be if the bat crossed the plate. At least then there would be a camera angle that would definitively show whether the swing was checked.

In the end, we deserve that, as fans, we know that every MLB game will be called the same today as it was yesterday. That doesn’t seem like a lot to ask.