May 21st, 2023 at 9:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Baseball is a very difficult game to be very good at all the time, especially at its highest level. As such, when a game is decided on because of an inexcusable and unacceptable blatantly blown call by an umpire, it is yet another (and there have been many) loud cry for Major League Baseball to implement an automated umpiring system, or what has long been referred to as ‘robo umps.’
With two outs in the top of the ninth inning and Dodgers veteran center fielder Jason Heyward on second base representing the tying run, 55-year-old home plate umpire Paul Emmel absolutely positively cost the Dodgers the game when he called a 94 MPH four-seam fastball from St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Giovanny Gallegos that was nearly a half foot off the plate strike three to Dodgers All-Star right fielder Mookie Betts to end the game in a 6-5 Dodgers loss to St. Louis.
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“Nothing we can do about it. It’s over with now,” Betts said postgame of Emmel’s inexcusable and unacceptable game-deciding blown call. “He called it. Nothing you can do. He called it a strike. Can’t take it back.”
“He missed it. Everyone is trying to compete, all of us, and it’s unfortunate that missed call determined the finality of that game,” added Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “You just hate to see the game determined by someone whose not wearing a player’s uniform.”
To this point there has been no (known) comment from the 24-year MLB veteran crew chief umpire or from the office of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
…nor is one expected.
Inexcusable and unacceptable.
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
It’s challenging enough getting through a season, navigating slumps, player changes and injuries, and just “baseball” in general. To have completely blown calls throughout games, including game-ending calls is egregious. Especially when those of us watching on television can see the digital strike zone clearly. There either needs to be a change allowing for a certain number of reviews/appeals or they need to figure out a way to get more accurate results another way. This is unacceptable and it needs to change.
It is a total load of crap that MLB allows this to continue. MLB used to be my favorite sport. Now college football and the LPGA are more fun to watch. Manfred screwed up the Asstros cheating scandal and now is just sitting on his hands with this umpiring problem. The technology is there to get it right. Use it.
I’d definitely be ok with allowing teams third strike challenges, even if allowed only one per game. If it were only one per game, most team probably wouldn’t even use it for fear of not having it for this exact reason.
Game ending calls should definitely be challengable/reviewable. Games should not be decided by bad calls and human error.
@Dodgers No worries… Dodgers will get ’em back today.
Driving yesterday and had no other option than to listen to the Cardinals radio broadcast of the game on XM radio. Cards announcer stated what I have maintained for years, that umpires bad calls on strikes and balls is more important overall to the games than any other challenge. Is the umpire union so strong that MLB lacks the leverage to make changes, discipline, and/or add electronic “assists” for determining whether a pitch is a strike or ball? I think the velocity and movement of most pitches at the MLB level have exceeded the physical ability of the vast majority of umpires to consistently make good decisions — and it is only going to get worse.
I will add, that the strike zone box we mostly see on TV is not reliable as we only see it in 2 dimensions. Periodically we can view a three dimensional depiction of the strike zone and see how a pitch may, at some point, cross through the zone for a strike — the rule only requires that any portion of a pitched ball pass through the strike zone to be called a strike . Recently the Fox FV broadcast had the strike zone box with the top of each batters waist rather than the rule book “…from the midpoint between a batter’s shoulders and the top of the uniform pants — when the batter is in his stance and prepared to swing at a pitched ball.
What drives me crazy is when the pitch is straight and it never ever is at any time a strike, it never crosses the plate, and it’s called a strike, like the pitch to Betts.
When the pitch goes across the plate and then finishes outside the box maybe it clipped part of the plate on the way across. That’s subject to interpretation at least.
I agree that something has to be done.
Haven’t been to the blog in a while, but as usual, the comments are all insightful and entertaining. That game was so exciting and you just wanted some pure baseball to determine the outcome. There are many takeaways from that final pitch. First, the umpires blow a lot of ball and strike calls during the course of the game, but in that particular instance, if memory serves me, umpires will hesitate ending a game on a close pitch for a called strike out. If a Dodger pitcher had made that pitch and won the game on that call, even though I am a diehard Dodger fan, I would not have liked the call. Another note is that the closing pitcher should earn that final out with a truly out pitch, one that has been saved up in the arsenal and either fools the batter or is just blown by the batter. Finally, if there is a Dodger fan in the universe that does not love Mookie Betts, I can’t imagine why. He is total class, the entire world, including the Cardinals knew that pitch was out of the zone. Mookie kept his poise, was visibly unhappy about the call, but turned and walked away with nary a bad word to the obvious blown call to the umpire.
I love this game and for some reason can mostly only watch the Dodgers. I guess it just became part of my DNA while going to Dodger Stadium in the 60’s and 70’s for $.25 for a seat in the top deck.