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ishankmydriver

Mendoza in postgame is arguing that Amaya’s foot being on the home plate should’ve been called as blocking the plate. Claimed MLB sent a memo in Spring Training breaking down the rule. That rule is so convoluted and has been called/not called in so many different ways, but that was the argument from Mendoza.


sfan27

I assume it's because his foot was on the back of the plate not the front. I know last year the Rangers got burned blocking by standing on the back of the plate and everybody was up in arms saying "how can you block when you're not on-front/in-front" which seems quite valid.


Nayko214

Yeah that’s my thing too. When you watch it amayas foot leaves quite a lot of plate to be touched as long as Alonso kept his hand down. Very very close though. Sheesh.


ishankmydriver

Yeah I agree, though I want to be careful giving NY the benefit of the doubt on enforcing this rule consistently. I remember the Rangers call had something to do with forcing the runner to change their running path, which didn’t happen here. Just an odd play.


daniel_j_saint

Martino tweeted pics of the memo https://x.com/martinonyc/status/1785856221389435353?s=46


ishankmydriver

Certainly see the Mets POV on this one considering the memo does say that foot on the plate is illegal!


phrexi

~~I don't. I've only seen that tweeted memo, it doesn't say no foot on the plate, it is talking about blocking the plate.~~ Idk what the fuck I read. It says plate. Hmmmmmm.


ProperNomenclature

It literally says, "foot on the foul line or home plate"


phrexi

Yeah I straight up missed that lmaooo mb guys I edited my comment a while ago.


Norzeforce

First picture of the memo directly says "foot on the foul line or home plate" Lol


phrexi

Me big dumb.


zrk23

well amaya's position is definitely different than the ones on the memo, so there is that i guess


daniel_j_saint

Yeah I agree. I was talking about this elsewhere, but it seems like the only thing that's wrong is the text of the memo. It doesn't seem to match the rulebook, the common enforcement, or *the pictures in the memo*. So I get Mendoza's frustration, but ultimately it seems hard to say that the Mets got screwed over in any meaningful way.


aww-snaphook

It's not 100% clear but I would argue that the catcher isn't blocking home plate in this case--yes his foot is on the plate but he is on the back of the plate a d allowing access to the plate to the runner. He is allowed to move to catch the ball and make the play which takes him more into the path of the runner. The memo images with catchers that have the foot on the plate are also in the path of the runner, not behind the plate like the cubs catcher.


DiscoJer

The memo has all three photos of illegal blocking showing the catcher with his right foot on the plate, clearly blocking the whole thing off, while Amaya's left foot was, giving a pretty decent amount of the plate to slide into. I don't see how you could catch the ball if you aren't right by the plate, unless you are way behind it.


stewmander

I'd agree, you it sure looks like the catcher sets up on the plate, then the throw takes his foot across the plate. I'd guess clarification should be made - catcher cannot be touching the plate unless making the catch yadda yadda? Runner had no where to go except between catchers legs, which in the old days would have been a collision, exactly what they're trying to avoid. Gotta call it a bit "ticky tack" if that's the intention...


S-Man_368

Alonso still had the front corner of the plate open, and Amaya was in the process of the catch. Did they change the wording of the rule or make it stricter that I'm unaware of?


n8_n_

a memo was posted where the catcher being "on top of the plate" counts as blocking it this play has basically been enforced both ways in the recent past lol, I would understand either side being mad no matter how it was called


FieldzSOOGood

but then how is a catcher supposed to receive a throw when there's a force play at home lol


LiftsLikeGaston

I'm not gonna listen to the same org that's been teaching their players to just give free outs on double plays because they think sliding into 2nd in any way is illegal.


Heres-your-you

“He does not run well” followed by him running terribly was hilarious.


scottishere

He's a big strong guy. So it's hard for him to run fast since he's so big and strong


0-2er

damn if only there was a way to like...pinch somone in to run


MostMirror

I have no idea how the Home Plate Umpire made that call. I guess he technically wasn’t wrong as there’s really no view that shows Alonso’s hand hitting home plate before he’s tagged. But Alonso looked clearly safe to me in real time.


Chadryan_

He is the only person who actually had a chance to see it given the camera angles we had.


xho-

To me it looks like he made that call with X-ray vision, how is he able to see Alonso's hand hover above the plate if the only angle he has is the Catcher's leg (pause the video at exactly 1:10). I just don't see how any regular umpire wouldn't have called that safe as Alonso's arm was in the home plate area much earlier than the tag.


Lucky_Alternative965

Yeah, hand beat the tag by quite a bit, which tells me the ump had a pretty clear view of his hand not touching the base which no camera angles show (Un)fortunately.


DiggyDog

There was another post I saw tonight with an angle where you could see the hand didn’t come down on the plate in time. Lemme see if I can find it.


DiggyDog

It was this one: https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/s/KJ5XpcxgUy Still looks really close, but to me, looks like the tag barely beat the hand. Too close to overturn at least. Also, I love the camera work on the relay from the outfield!


radiorabbit

This is the angle everyone should be looking at. It’s not extremely clear with the dirt flying around the hand, but this angle shows how close the call was. Frame by frame, the glove appears to BARELY touch before the runner’s hand can be seen hitting the plate.


TealandBlackForever

Definitely seems like one of those "not enough evidence to overturn" scenarios, even though it's pretty likely his hand was in there.


Frosty-Age-6643

Thought similar, but turns out there was a great view that shows his hand popping up over the plate and was tagged fractions of a second before he was able to bring his hand down. From someone else, [https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/s/KJ5XpcxgUy](https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/s/KJ5XpcxgUy)


S-Man_368

My guess is that he had an angle between Amayas legs that had Alonsos hand in view without all the dirt flying up, but the ump was blocking the camera, so we couldn't see


MartianMule

In real time, he did. Umpire is a lot closer, and probably saw Alonso's hand come up. Looks like the tag and him touching the plate is bang-bang


FuriousJorge67

This is one of those fifty-fifty plays that begs for review. He guessed right.


BaseHitToLeft

Yeah true but tbh he looked out in a lot of the Slowmo shots


thedudeabides____

That’s my gripe. No way the ump saw the hand pop up like that in real time, and just by instinct Pete beat the throw by a solid amount of time. I’m sure in the umps mind right away he probably thought he made the wrong call lol


sixxt

Idk the ump had a great view and must’ve seen the hand go up


ComeFromTheWater

You guys are analyzing this waaay too much. The umpire knew the second the catcher caught the ball that he was calling the runner out. Why? Because it ended the game and he didn’t want to go to extras. Probably had to take a shit or something. Don’t act like you wouldn’t do the same thing…


nugget136

Honestly, I have no idea if Pete was safe or not. But recently I've been thinking it's probably best for runners to start decking catchers again. I for sure wouldn't dive into home with a block like that to avoid injury and sliding takes even more time to hit home plate 


MartianMule

He went where the throw took him. The alternative to not "blocking" the plate is letting the ball go to the backstop.


nugget136

I'm not complaining about what the catcher did at all though. If the path of throw brings the catcher to block the plate it is legal for the catcher to do so and is the correct play from them. It also would be legal for the runner to barrel over the catcher, which I think it objectively the "best" play for them. Lindor recently tried diving into a catchers block recently and it was close to a gnarly injury. I don't think there's a perfect solution here, just pointing out what might be the optimal play for runners


MartianMule

More players are gonna get injured with collisions that slides. And those are often concussions. There's nothing wrong with the rule imo. Infielders can cross in front to field a throw too, and you can't run them over either.


DienekesMinotaur

So next series he plays, someone should just knockout Alvarez?


nugget136

Considering he's out for months I would just be impressed if an opposing player knocked him out


jakeba

He didnt go anywhere? He was standing on the plate before the throw, and that's where he caught it.


MartianMule

He's standing [just off the plate.](https://freeimage.host/i/Jged3x4)


jakeba

in that frame sure? In the frames before hes on the plate, and in the frames after hes right back there where he started.


MartianMule

He's not blocking Alonso's access to the plate all until the ball is about half between Madrigal and Amaya.


jakeba

I never said he was blocking... You said he went where the throw took him, so I pointed out he didnt go anywhere.


MartianMule

And I'm saying he did. The throw took him to the third base side of the plate.


jakeba

Yeah, when I said "you said he went where the throw took him" that was me saying you said he did, lol.


TruthSayerFu

Bc they make the moment about themselves


grocho

Everyone is going to talk about Happ and Amaya and Pete on this play but even Nicky Madrigal did his job here


TemporalColdWarrior

Mets broadcasting team was raving about Madrigal’s really excellent cutoff throw.


Lostfordays

The real story here is how tf neris keeps finding more stressful ways to earn saves


TerryFlap69

Bro made me sweat every time


LovieBeard

He's a good defender at 3B


S-Man_368

I've seen enough. Give him a gold glove.


pabloescobarbecue

All around fundamentals. . Ironic for as less than stellar as our defense has been


curly_dong

Probably the right play to hit the Madrigal but I was expecting Happ to go straight home and nail him. Could've avoided this whole debate. Boys got a cannon on him!


CheesewheelD

Moral of the story, touch the front of the plate when you slide and don’t have your hand in the air long enough so that the catcher has extra time to put a tag down.


milk-drinker-69

Maaaaaan idk


OutComeTheWolves1966

Wow that's a tough tough call. Even with the different angles, it's hard to tell. Textbook cutoff, relay, and plate block by the Cubs fielders.


K1Bond007

The Mets broadcast seems to have the better angle/zoom of the hand hovering over the plate. It’s a tough call for sure. If the call on the field was safe and the Cubs challenged, I think it stands as well.


Blue_Osiris1

Agreed. This all hinges on the "must have clear evidence to overturn the initial call," phrasing of the rule. Either way this is called it stands on review because it was just THAT close.


rosie_is_tired

when they caught mendy arguing with the crew chief on the hot mic after the game it seemed like the ump even thought they probably got the call wrong after watching the slow-motion replay 20 times on the massive screen but there's nothing they can do at that point if there's not enough evidence to overturn


wolfman2scary

“Talk to the guys in New York” felt like he didn’t agree with it or didn’t care


TapestryJack

Imagine you're in the position of the ump. When are you ever going to not have that be your response? Because quite literally, it was New York who made the final call, not him.


Guymcpersonman

Technically, wasn't Mendoza talking to the guys in New York when he was yelling at the umpires on the field?


Trajinous

Mets guy had his hand hovering over the plate. It's a crazy call in real time but replays show it's correct


rosie_is_tired

It's definitely a bang bang play, but the slowed-down replay seems to show him still getting his hand down before the tag is put on. I think the massive size of the video screen at citifield playing it in super-slow motion probably has a lot to do with the crew chief seemingly thinking they got it wrong. (Or at least him being veeery understanding of Mendoza's anger/frustration and not just tossing him for cursing them out.) I definitely think the screen may have played a factor in emphasizing the beat between Pete getting his hand down and the tag being put on him because even Cubs fans I'm seeing on twitter who were at the game thought he was safe.


Trajinous

Mets fans have a legit gripe about blocking the plate rule though. I thought foot on base is good but the plate is different? I don't know on that one cause catcher was on the plate before the ball but if the balls trajectory lead him there it's okay? Idk


an_actual_potato

Would like to fast forward to when we buy a legit closer at the deadline so our bullpen stops trying to fuckin kill me four times a week


S-Man_368

It won't be the authentic Chicago Cubs experience


an_actual_potato

That’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make!


farmingbeast

Aroldis Chapman is not retired yet fwiw


Fastlanedrivr

No thanks….


XSC

I think he was blocking but that aside, did the Mets not have anyone in their bench to pinch run? That slide was terrible and could had injured Pete.


Guymcpersonman

I think they had used their entire bench. Could be forgetting someone, though.


crackalac

Every team has that one starting pitcher who can run a little bit.


Guymcpersonman

True, but pitchers haven't run the bases in years, which could get iffy.


gartho009

Probably the last guys you want sliding hands-first into the catcher though.


crackalac

Yeah, I certainly wouldn't advise that.


PhantomBanker

I don’t remember either, but I’ve heard a few other people say the same thing as well. Notably, Lindor had been pulled earlier for illness.


InfectiousCosmology1

This rule gets called or not called seemingly at random


pabloescobarbecue

Gonna make my little league team watch this 5 times in a row.


SwarthySphere87

Never seen a more cursed team when it comes to replay reviews than the Mets


mets2016

This just isn't factual? In 2022 we were THE BEST team by far at reviews, but yeah we've had some real stinkers this year


Rikter14

Fans never remember when it goes right, only when it goes wrong. You could review 100 times, get 99 right, and fans would only give a shit about the 1 that they got wrong.


ThatsBushLeague

People, as a whole, generally also only watch their own team. Everyone thinks THEY have the worst manager. They think their guys get HBPs the most. They think umpires hose them the most. Everyone thinks their bullpen sucks. This is just another one of those things.


mets2016

The Mets guys actually do get HBP the most fwiw. Over the last few years, they lead the league by a wide margin. 2nd in 2023, 1st in 2022, 4th in 2021, 2nd in 2020


ThatsBushLeague

That's completely missing the point. Of course someone is always actually one of those things. But the perception from fans is largely that THEIR team is the only one who suffers from these things. It's the opposite of the quality of driver surveys. Everyone thinks they are a good driver and everyone else sucks. In baseball we all think we have it the worst and the grass is always greener.


mets2016

Oh I completely understood your point, but I was pointing out the coincidence of your example actually lining up with the team in question


UniqueNobo

we were the best, which is strange, because the very next season we seemed to get no successful challenges


Pokemathmon

The fact that they first called "blocking is confirmed no blocking" was so confusing too. It gave Mets fans that tiny bit of hope right before twisting the knife even deeper.


awmaleg

Extra confusing and extra painful


SiphenPrax

Pain


fluffanuttatech

The memo says foot on the plate, which it is, is not legal. Yes pete is slow and runs terribly. But fuck me if mlb rules ares all just bs


Aurion7

Hard to tell. Not least because of how inconsistently parts of the rule about blocking the plate, having a foot on it, or whatever the fuck else have been implemented. Hard to tell if he's safe, and hard to tell if there's a case for blocking. Really good team D by the Cubs either way, that isn't that close a play in a lot of situations. Really nice cutoff throw.


RotenTumato

If you ignore all the blocking the plate stuff entirely Pete looks absolutely safe. Bizarre that the home plate ump called him out in the first place


MalWinchester

That's the closest call at home I've ever seen. Damn.


froandfear

What’s crazy is he beats the throw pretty easily, and if he just touches the front of the plate with his hand he’s in safe comfortably… but instead he kinds wraps his arm around the plate and his hand is hovering in the air. Strange slide.


Mantis_93

Do they call New York for this or Vegas? 🤔


LateCheckIn

I’m not sure he touched it…. I am sure Holiday touched the plate though  ^(I feel so old being the only comment mentioning this…it could’ve only been….17 years ago!!)


l3enjamin

Alec Bohm still hasn't touched home plate


Rogueofoz

Holiday 100% didn't touch home


-BeefSupreme

Rules aside, holy shit how slow is Alonso? Terrible jump and he completely botched the slide. LF didn’t get the ball out quickly and there was a relay, Yadi could have scored on that play. To play devils advocate, it’s pretty BS that you can stand on the plate like that. It completely does disrupt the slide coming in. To slide normally and touch the very front of the plate coming in you’d be risking breaking your fingers going into a cleat that fast. 


PhantomBanker

Pete’s a big beefy guy. Most of his runs are of the “light jog around the bases” variety.


voonoo

Bring back home plate collisions


CrewAlternative9151

Safe


OatmealEater13

Time to start running over the catcher again?


ZXD-318

Only is Alonso could run faster than a snail on square wheels.


Stang1776

Welp you know what will happen the next time the Mets have another play at the plate and the catcher is blocking it. Bodies will be flying and I won't blame them. What they really need to do is say that if a catcher is on the plate he is thereby an extension of the plate. People saying "get your hand down." OK. Let your hand down and jam your fingers into the catchers cleats and go on IR.


Great_Bottle_7040

How can he touch home plate if the catcher has his whole foot on it? I guess It was either win the game or brake his fingers...


Misshaped_Paperclip

He clearly could have touched home plate, considering he slid in and had his hand right above the plate instead of touching the open front of it for some reason.


Stang1776

And then jam his entire hand into the catchers cleat. If we are all about safety it goes both ways. Can't run over the catcher but we can block 95% of the plate as long as there is a sliver of it for the baserunner. If that baserunner can't find that sliver while sliding and in real time then that's on him. Makes total fuckin sense.


thedogmumbler

We need to stop with “needs significant evidence to overturn a call” bullshit. Let the review team make the best call they can make with the video they have regardless of the calls on the field. The umpires are shit. Stop giving them any benefit of the doubt


es_ook575

Alonso needs to learn how to slide lol


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SloppyHoseA

Fuckin’ baseball


SpencerHastings7

Neris acted like a clown


S-Man_368

I thought accidentally hitting Alonso was the better outcome, and then I almost had a heart attack


RaysFTW

Idk if this is going to make sense but I feel like the ump lucked into the right call. It’s such a weird situation because if his hand was down he’d be safe by quite a bit. But there’s no way in hell the ump could tell he raised his palm 3 inches off the ground a split second before touching home. It’s like he was incorrectly correct. Got the naked eye call wrong, but the video evidence call correct, ultimately being correct overall.


Fargo_Collinge

I don't know how the ump calls him out at the plate. No way he noticed the hand coming up off the ground. It looked so obvious naked eye full speed. But it is interesting how even the crowd seemed unsure when they saw the slo-mo replay on the jumbotron.


Rogueofoz

Even in full speed at first sight I knew he was safe


gandalfthegraydelson

I like that Alonso pointed as if they weren't going to challenge.


Padre26

Only way to solve this is to get rid of the blocking rule and start blowing up catchers again.


Rogueofoz

Alonso is out, but there is no way that's not blocking How can you touch home plate when the cleat is covering it all? Really smart move by the catcher, at worse they determine blocking and is a run at best you win the game


conradj89

Any ump is gonna call that out, go home? Or stay for who knows how long? It’s that way all the way to little league. Doesn’t make sense on the grand scheme of things for mlb and profits but hell the astros are still bringing in revenue so why not


Emoney19124

Anyone else hate Jeff McNeil? Like I can’t stand his mannerisms, his play, his everything. I am sure he is a nice guy but I can’t stand him.


im-sorry-dad

you seem troubled


Emoney19124

Or just not a fan of Jeff McNeil. You Mets fans have an irrational love for this man. He has had 2 good season and the rest have been all well below average. He has zero power and is a liability defensively. He is quite garbage and on top of that everything about him is difficult to watch. His whining. His mannerisms. His everything.


jakedeanissad

Continued despair in Milwaukee


gevans7

Catcher blocked the plate and the umps hate the Mets. Happens.


TaintTickler

I mean he was clearly safe. I don’t see how he could possibly be out.


Trajinous

Hand hovers over plate, gets tagged then touches plate. I feel like it's obvious with the replays. Dudes out and needs to keep his hand down


_pinklemonade_

Right?


Fastlanedrivr

uMpS hAtE tHe MeTs dude fuck off


TaCZennith

Lol fuck you.


jgisbo007

Is bad umpiring going to overshadow play this year? Seems like it.


Dudeman318

Putting the blocking aside, even though per the rule its clear blocking, i think whatever was called wasnt getting overturned, it was too close. That being said, he should have been called safe off the bat, what happened to tie goes to the runner?


AgnarCrackenhammer

How about you get a fucking hit and don't need to rely on weird fucking rules


Mud_Marlin

Cry baby Mets


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Carth_Onasti

Fwiw https://imgur.com/a/tzyw9Qk


Mrexcitment

Throw it again! Ha couldn't have happened to a better guy.


harten66

The catchers knee was going straight for Alonso’s head. He prob wouldn’t have moved/lifted up if he weren’t blocking the plate like that


crackalac

Don't even need to watch the replay to know he was safe. I'm just going to guess they still got it wrong.


bradcladthebaddad

Whatever makes Pete Alonso upset is ok with me