HP Umpire Tripp Gibson ejected Orioles Manager Brandon Hyde (runner's lane interference; QOCY) in the bottom of the 4th inning of the Red Sox-Orioles game. With one out and two on (R1, R3), Orioles batter Keon Broxton bunted a 0-1 slider from Red Sox pitcher Colten Brewer on the ground to Brewer, who threw toward first baseman Michael Chavis as Broxton arrived at first base. Replays indicate that although Chavis caught the ball, Broxton ran to first base completely in fair territory and out of the three-foot running lane his entire journey down the line; Gibson's RLI call was made
prior to the first baseman's catch of the baseball, meaning the ball was already dead prior to the apparent putout at first base. As such, the interference penalty is enforced because it occurred prior to the apparent out (by rule, the apparent out at first base never officially occurred, since the ball was already dead prior to Chavis' tag of first base) and the batter is declared out, with the runners returning to their bases occupied at the time of the pitch, the call was correct.*
Play was reviewed and affirmed by the UEFL Appeals Board (7-0), the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Red Sox were leading, 2-1. The Red Sox ultimately won the contest, 8-6.
This is Tripp Gibson (73)'s second ejection of 2019.
Tripp Gibson now has 9 points in the UEFL Standings (5 Prev + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 9).
Crew Chief Mark Carlson now has 4 points in Crew Division (3 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 4).
*Official Baseball Rule 5.09(a)(11) states: "
A batter is out for interference when—In running the last half of the distance from home base to first base, while the ball is being fielded to first base, he runs outside (to the right of) the three-foot line, or inside (to the left of) the foul line, and in the umpire’s judgment in so doing interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first base, in which case the ball is dead."
Wendelstedt's interpretation states: "
A runner that is running the entire distance outside of the running lane will not be protected if he interferes with a play at first base, even if it is in his last stride or step to the base. In order to be protected, this last step must be when he first exits the running lane" (a runner cannot
exit a lane that he has never
entered.
Related Post:
Runner's Lane Interference - 2018 World Series Edition (10/28/18).
Gil's Call: Call the infraction when it occurs and enforce the prescribed penalties. In the Replay Review era, there is no "easy way out" with the play at first base. For instance, take the "let's ignore the call because the first baseman made the catch" philosophy. Suppose Hyde challenges the call and Replay Review overturns 1B Umpire Bruce Dreckman's out call to "safe." Video evidence clearly indicates the batter-runner violated the running lane rule, yet the umpires failed to call it because of the aforementioned lesser of two evils philosophy...
Given the batter-runner's illegal run inside the foul line (not within the running lane), there is no rules-correct way here to call the batter-runner out while allowing the runner from third base to score. To be clear, the infraction occurs at the moment at which the batter-runner's illegal act has impeded the fielder taking the throw, often a fraction of a second before the out/safe play at first base. When RLI is enforced, it is a dead ball that wipes out the subsequent out/safe play at first base.
Commentary Critique: Just a friendly tip for broadcasters...just because you don't understand the rule doesn't mean the umpire's call isn't correct.
This is the 95th ejection report of the 2019 MLB regular season.
This is the 50th Manager ejection of 2019.
This is Baltimore's 4th ejection of 2019, 1st in the AL East (
BAL 4; TOR 3; BOS, NYY 2; TB 0).
This is Brandon Hyde's 2nd ejection of 2019, 1st since
April 15 (Mark Wegner; QOC = N-c [Replay]).
This is Tripp Gibson's 2nd ejection of 2019, 1st since
June 13 (Brian Snitker; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).
Wrap:
Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles, 6/16/19 | Video as follows:
