MiLB Ejection - Jose Navas Runs Masyn Winn in PA

2B Umpire Jose Navas ejected Redbirds SS Masyn Winn for drawing a line in the dirt while arguing a safe call during Memphis' Triple-A game against Lehigh Valley. IronPigs batter Simon Muzziotti hit a line drive to center field and slid into second base as Winn attempted to tag him, ruled safe by Navas.

We also look at a 4th inning groundout when IronPigs batter Jim Haley didn't run out a ground ball to Redbirds third baseman Taylor Motter, ruled fair by 3B Umpire Brian Walsh. 1B Umpire Taka Matsuda and HP Umpire Ben Phillips rounded out the crew.

Video as follows:

Rhys Hoskins' HR Overturned to Double in Philadelphia

With New York leading 8-5 in the bottom of the 9th inning of Sunday's #Mets-#Phillies game, Philadelphia's 1B Rhys Hoskins appeared to tie the score with a 3-run home run, only for umpires to overturn the call to a double upon Replay Review. Was this the rules-correct decision?

The Play: With two out and two on (R1, R3), Philadelphia was down to its last two strikes when Hoskins appeared to tie the game on an Edwin Diaz fastball with a three-run home run to deep right-center field, ruled a home run by 1B Umpire Jose Navas. After a Crew Chief Review, Replay HQ overturned Navas' ruling and HP Umpire Andy Fletcher signaled that New York had awarded Hoskins a double.

Ground Rule: According to MLB's Ground Rules for Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia, a ball that strikes the top of the outfield fence or scoreboard and rebounds onto the playing field shall be ruled in play. The railing/chain link fence at the top of the wall in Philadelphia is considered part of the outfield fence.

Replay Decision: Clear and convincing visual evidence indicates the batted ball struck the top of the railing and caromed back onto the playing field, resulting in an overturned call. Placing baserunners was the most difficult decision for New York, but with two outs, the Replay Official, finding that runner R1 Matt Joyce was running on contact, properly awarded Joyce three bases (scoring a run), ruling that had the umpires called Hoskins' hit in play, Joyce would have scored. The Replay Official also placed Hoskins at second base—a literal ground rule double.

Aftermath: Ensuing batter Bryce Harper struck out swinging, stranding tying run Hoskins on base to end the game with a Mets victory, final score 8-7.

Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 025 - Andy Fletcher (1; Bryce Harper)

1B Umpire Andy Fletcher ejected Phillies bench player Bryce Harper (out of base path call by 2B Umpire Jose Navas; QOCN) in the bottom of the 7th inning of the #Mets-#Phillies game. With one out and one on (R1), Phillies batter Matt Joyce hit a ground ball to Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil, who threw to shortstop Francisco Lindor, to first baseman Pete Alonso, Phillies baserunner R1 Andrew McCutchen ruled out for running more than three feet away from his base path to avoid a tag and Phillies batter-runner Joyce ruled out upon Replay Review as the result of a challenge by Mets manager Luis Rojas. Replays indicate McCutchen did not deviate from his base path to avoid a tag in contravention of Official Baseball Rule 5.09(b)(1), the call was incorrect.* At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 4-4. The Mets ultimately won the contest, 5-4.

This is Andy Fletcher (49)'s 1st ejection of 2021.
Andy Fletcher now has 0 points in the UEFL Standings (0 Prev + 2 MLB - 2 Incorrect [Crewmate] = 0).
Crew Chief Andy Fletcher now has 0 points in Crew Division (0 Previous + 0 Incorrect Call = 0).

*OBR 5.09(b)(1) states that "any runner is out when—He runs more than three feet away from his base path to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner’s base path is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely."

This is the 25th ejection report of the 2021 MLB regular season.

This is the eighth player ejection of 2021. Prior to ejection, Harper did not appear in the contest.

This is Philadelphia's 2nd ejection of 2021, T-1st in the NL East (NYM, PHI 2; MIA 1; ATL, WAS 0).

This is Bryce Harper's 1st ejection since Sept 5, 2020 (Roberto Ortiz; QOC = Y [Fair/Foul]).

This is Andy Fletcher's 1st ejection since May 17, 2019 (Bruce Bochy; QOC = N-c [Check Swing]).

Wrap: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 5/1/21 | Video as follows:

Jose's Navas of Steel - The HBP Strikeout

In this Gil's Call, we talk about guts and gumption: having the courage to make a tough call. For first-year MLB umpire Jose Navas, that opportunity presented itself during Sunday's Reds-Cardinals game, when Cincinnati's Jesse Winker leaned into an Andrew Miller slider for a hit-by-pitch, as Navas overruled the HBP's standard base award and declared Winker out on strikes.

The Play: With none out and none on in the top of the 8th inning, lead-off batter Winker worked his way to a 3-2 count. As pitcher Miller delivered his payoff pitch, Winker was struck in the right elbow (pad) by the pitched ball, drawing a standard "Time" call from HP Umpire Navas.

But instead of awarding Winker first base as a hit batsman, Navas enforced Official Baseball Rule 5.05(b)(2), ruling that the pitch was located in the strike zone: Dead ball, strike three, batter's out.

Navas explains his call to Winker.

FWIW: This pitch's px value was 0.84 with a pz of 2.60. RoboUmp starts balling px values greater than 0.83, so while RoboUmp would have balled this pitch by a margin of about 0.1 inches, the call becomes borderline under UEFL f/x and Zone Evaluation rules.

Furthermore, if an off-speed or slider type pitch has cutting action that may have allowed the ball to catch the back corner of home plate (and with a margin of 0.1 inches, that's a distinct possibility), the batter's act of making contact with the ball deprives the umpire with the opportunity to fully adjudicate pitch location, in which case an umpire might choose to err on the side of awarding the pitcher (for hitting the batter? Only if the batter, through his/her actions, deprived the pitcher of securing a called strike the 'old fashioned' way).

If the pitch is located as a strike, it's a strike.

The Rule: OBR 5.05(b)(2) awards the batter first base without liability to be put out when—"He is touched by a pitched ball which he is not attempting to hit unless (A) The ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter, or (B) The batter makes no attempt to avoid being touched by the ball; If the ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter, it shall be called a strike, whether or not the batter tries to avoid the ball. If the ball is outside the strike zone when it touches the batter, it shall be called a ball if he makes no attempt to avoid being touched."

Note, however, that (per 5.05(b)(2) Comment): "A batter shall not be considered touched by a pitched ball if the ball only touches any jewelry being worn by a player (e.g., necklaces, bracelets, etc.)" (this is similar to the laces-of-the-glove rule in that superfluous dangles don't count as part of a person, whereas uniform items e.g., baggy shirts or equipment such as elbow padding/braces do).

FoxTrax indicates the ball touched the zone.

As a matter of technicality, whether Navas ruled that Winker failed to attempt to avoid being touched by the pitched ball is rather irrelevant—because he ruled the baseball was located in the strike zone, it's a strike no matter what Winker tried or didn't try to do. In other words, he invoked OBR 5.05(b)(2)(A), not OBR 5.05(b)(2)(B).

Conclusion: This is an incredibly gutsy call to make—and the correct call—especially relative to 5.05(b)(2)(A)'s auto-strike as opposed to 5.05(b)(2)(B)'s auto-ball. For a triple-digit umpire with single-digit major league experience to make this call should rightly earn praise and high marks on an evaluation.

And the post-call explanations and situation-handling by both Navas and Crew Chief CB Bucknor with both Winker and Manager David Bell were phenomenal.

As I've long said, do what's right, which may not always (and often isn't) congruent with what is easy or popular.

Rules Myth: Recall, whether or not a batter "leans into" the pitch is of zero consequence. The rule simply specifies that if a batter "makes no attempt to avoid being touched by the ball" (for a pitch located outside of the strike zone), which is a significantly lower bar than simply "leaning into" the pitch or not, the proper call is a dead ball, and strike or ball depending on the pitch's location.

Video as follows:

MLB Debut of Umpire Jose Navas

Jose Navas made his MLB debut Friday with Jeff Nelson's crew in Chicago. Navas becomes the fourth Venezuelan to reach MLB as an umpire, following Manny Gonzalez, Carlos Torres, and Edwin Moscoso, who debuted on Opening Day.

Like Moscoso, Navas formerly officiated in Venezuela's professional winter league.

His Minor League journey began in 2015's Gulf Coast rookie league, after which Navas traveled through the Florida State and Southern Leagues before his 2019 midseason promotion to the Triple-A International League and Arizona Fall League assignment.

Navas was the crew chief for the 2019 MiLB All-Star Futures Game in Cleveland and is a past recipient of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League's 2017 Gualberto Acosta Award for Umpire of the Year, and the Appalachian League's inaugural Dale Ford Award for top umpire in 2015.

Navas served as HP Umpire during that 2019 Arizona Fall League when Major League Baseball tested its Automated Ball/Strike System during live game play. After the computer called Giants prospect Jacob Heyward out on strikes, Navas warned and ejected Heyward for arguing the call—arguing with a robot umpire's call.
Related Post: Computer Strike Call Prompts Navas' AFL Ejection (10/16/19).

Navas is one of 10 rookie umpires to make his MLB debut during the 2020 regular season.

Computer Strike Call Prompts Navas' AFL Ejection

A strike three call by the Automated Ball/Strike System produced an Arizona Fall League ejection as HP Umpire Jose Navas ejected Giants prospect Jacob Heyward after a computer-generated strikeout at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and subsequent protest from the struck-out batter.

With one out and one on (R2) for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the top of the 4th inning of the Scorpions-River Rafters game, Scorpions batter Heyward took a 1-2 curveball from River Rafters pitcher Dakota Chalmers for a called third strike care of the AFL's electronic ABS system.

In September, River Rafters batsman Geraldo Perdomo argued a strike three call by ABS as conveyed by HP Umpire Eric Bacchus, though that did not result in an ejection. The Atlantic League's TrackMan ABS experiment, on the other hand, did produce a few ejections.
Related Post: Arizona Fall Testing Automated Ball/Strike System (9/27/19).

Replays indicate the 1-2 pitch to Heyward was located around the outer edge of home plate and around the batter's hollow-beneath-the-kneecap (data not provided) before quickly dropping into the catcher's mitt atop the dirt, the call was irrecusable (though certainly unexpected, as indicated by the catcher who double-clutched his throw back to the mound upon Navas' delayed strike three mechanic). At the time of the ejection, the Scorpions were leading, 2-0. The Scorpions ultimately won the contest, 2-1.

Wrap: Scottsdale Scorpions vs Salt River Rafters (AFL), 10/15/19 | Video as follows:

MLB Hires Chad Whitson to Full-Time Umpire Staff

Major League Baseball hired Chad Whitson to the full-time MLB umpire staff to replace the retired Mike DiMuro. Whitson's 391 games of big league experience as a call-up/fill-in at the time of promotion feature strong showings in 2017 (124 games) and 2018 (141 games), as well as the first half of 2019 (59 games).

Chad Whitson (Sleeve #62) Hired: A 2005 graduate of the Harry Wendelsedt Umpire School as its "Outstanding Student Runner-Up," Whitson officiated the Appalachian, South Atlantic, California, Arizona Instructional, Eastern, Arizona Fall, and International Leagues.

Whitson made his MLB debut on May 15, 2014 in Cincinnati and is the first umpire hired to the full-time staff since Stu Scheurwater during the 2017-2018 offseason.
Related Post: Major League Umpiring Debut: Chad Whitson (62) (5/15/14).
Related Post: Source - Stu Scheurwater Hired to Full-Time MLB Staff (12/23/17).

The 37-year-old resident of Dublin, Ohio has accumulated three career MLB ejections as of his July 2019 promotion, including two ejections of catcher Matt Wieters and his first non-Wieters ejection (of Miguel Cabrera) in May 2019. He replaces retiree Mike DiMuro, whose 2019 crew was chiefed by Bill Miller. Whitson is presently paired with Chief Larry Vanover's crew.
Related Post: Mike DiMuro Retires After 20 Years (7/18/19).

Navas receives the Dale Ford Award in 2015.

Jose Navas, Matt Winter Promoted: With the vacancy created by Whitson's MLB hiring, Venezuela media reports that Jose Navas has been promoted to Triple-A from the Double-A Southern League, as has SL umpire Matt Winter.

Navas recently chiefed the MiLB All-Star Futures Game at 2019 MLB All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, and received the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League's Gualberto Acosta Award (Umpire of the Year) in January 2017. Navas Corzo also received the inaugural Dale Ford award, which recognizes the top umpire in MiLB's Appalachian League, in 2015.

Winter, who officiated the 2018 Southern League All-Star Game, served as a crew chief in the Southern League until his Triple-A promotion.