MLB Instant Replay Review 085: Greg Gibson (03)

Instant Replay Review upheld 1B Umpire Greg Gibson's safe call in the bottom of the 5th inning of the Rays-Orioles game. With one out and two on, Orioles batter Steve Lombardozzi hit a 1-0 fastball from Rays pitcher Chris Archer on the ground to second baseman Ben Zobrist, who threw to shortstop Yunel Escobar to first baseman James Loney as Lombardozzi arrived at first base, Orioles baserunner R1 J.J. Hardy out at second base. Upon Instant Replay Review as the result of a challenge by Rays Manager Joe Maddon, Gibson's ruling that Loney did not legally catch and tag first base prior to Lombardozzi's touch arrival was affirmed, the call was correct. At the time of the review, the Orioles were leading, 6-0. The Orioles ultimately won the contest, 7-1.

This is Greg Gibson (53)'s second Instant Replay Review of 2014.
Greg Gibson is now 2/3 (.667 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews in 2014.
Crew Chief Bill Miller's crew is now 6/6 (1.000 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews in 2014.

This is the 85th Instant Replay Review of the 2014 MLB Regular Season.
Rays Manager Joe Maddon is now 2/6 (.333 Success) in Instant Replay Reviews during 2014.
Umpires are now 57/85 (.671 Affirmation Rate) in Instant Replay Reviews during the 2014 MLB season.

Wrap: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles, 4/14/14
Video: Play stands; Orioles beat out the double play call, a decision upheld after replay review (TB)

MLB Instant Replay Review Statistics: Week 2 Sabermetrics

Instant Replay Review Statistics and Sabermetrics are now available for MLB Week 2. As the numbers and trends begin to form, Close Call Sports and the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League continues with the strategic statistics reporting, or what may be the first measure of umpire-centric sabermetrics in professional baseball. First, some key terms:

Review Affirmation Percentage (RAP): The percent of Replay Reviews in which an umpire's call is confirmed or upheld (stands). For instance, a RAP of .750 for n=4 indicates that three calls were affirmed (confirmed/stands) via Replay Review while the other was reversed (overturned). A higher figure (trending towards 1.000) indicates greater calling accuracy; a lower figure (trending towards .000) indicates a greater real-time call error rate. Also known as QOC (Quality of Correctness).

Replay Percentage of Success (RPS): The percent of Replay Reviews in which a ball club and/or its Manager receives an overturned call that benefits the team. Includes both Crew Chief Reviews (initiated by the umpires) and Manager's Challenges (initiated by the teams). For instance, RPS of .333 for n=3 indicates that two calls were affirmed (confirmed/stands) via Replay Review while the other was reversed (overturned). Alternatively, 1.000 - RAP = RPS.

Manager's Challenge Success Percentage (CSP): A subset of RPS, this statistic considers just those Replay Reviews that were effected as the result of a Manager's Challenge. For both RPS and CSP, a higher number (1.000) indicates greater success in the Replay Review process; a lower figure (.000) indicates less successful outcomes.

With Week 2 of the MLB Regular Season in the books, the UEFL recaps professional baseball's "this time it counts" living experiment with Instant Replay Reviews. Bearing in mind that with n=84, our sample size is relatively small and unreliable, here, combined with Wk 1, are the "early returns" numbers:

Key bullet points:
"Team Most Used" (Made use of Replay Review most often): Oakland Athletics - 8.
"Manager's Challenge Leaders" (Most challenges filed): T Francona, B Ausmus, J Gibbons - 4.
"Most successful Manager" (Manager with highest CSP): F Gonzalez, T Collins - 1.000 in 2/2.
"Least successful Manager" (Manager with lowest CSP): J Gibbons - .000 in 0/4.
"Umpire most questioned" (Ump with most Replay Reviews): Bob Davidson - 5 (.600 RAP).
"Most accurate umpire" (Umpire with greatest RAP): Vic Carapazza, Jim Reynolds - 1.000 RAP in 3/3.
"Umpire of greatest overturn %" (Umpire with lowest RAP): [11 Tied] - .000 RAP in 0/1.
"Overall affirmation or QOC percentage" (Overall RAP): .667 (56/84 Affirmed Replay Reviews).
Team Status Pre-Review (Winning or Losing prior to review [Win-Loss-Tied]): 31-24-29.
Team Status Post-Review (Won or Lost the game [Wins-Losses]): 42-42. (Delta: 11-18; WPCT: .379).

Actual data:

MLB Replay & Ejection: Bob Davidson (5, 1; John Farrell)

1B Umpire Bob Davidson ejected Red Sox Manager John Farrell for arguing a Replay Review decision in which Instant Replay Review overturned Davidson's out call in the bottom of the 4th inning of the Red Sox-Yankees game. With one out and two on, Yankees batter Francisco Cervelli hit a 0-0 fastball from Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront on the ground to third baseman Ryan Roberts, who threw to second baseman Jonathan Herrera, to first baseman Mike Napoli as Cervelli arrived at first base, Yankees baserunner R1 Kelly Johnson out at second as R3 Brian McCann attempted to score from third base. Upon Instant Replay Review as the result of a challenge by Yankees Manager Joe Girardi, Davidson's ruling that Napoli caught the ball and tagged first base prior to Cervelli's touch arrival was reversed, the call was incorrect. Pursuant to UEFL Rule 6-2-b-7, the Quality of Correctness component for Davidson's ejection of Farrell, which occurred after the announced Replay Review decision of overturn (safe), is "correct," as the call after challenge/review (safe) was correct. At the time of the review, the Yankees were leading, 2-1. At the time of the ejection, the Yankees were leading, 3-1. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 3-2.

This is Bob Davidson (61)'s fifth Instant Replay Review of the 2014 MLB season.
This is Bob Davidson (61)'s first ejection of 2014.
Bob Davidson is now 3/5 (.600 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews in 2014.
Bob Davidson now has 5 points in the UEFL Standings (1 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 5).
Crew Chief Brian O'Nora's crew is now 1/2 (.500 Affirmation) in Replay Reviews in 2014.

This is the 84th Instant Replay Review of the 2014 MLB Regular Season.
This is the 5th ejection of the 2014 MLB Regular Season.
Yankees Manager Joe Girardi is now 2/5 (.400 Success) in Instant Replay Reviews in 2014.
This is the Red Sox's 1st ejection of 2014, 1st in the AL East (BOS 1; BAL, NYY, TB, TOR 0).
Umpires are now 56/84 (.667 Affirmation Rate) in Instant Replay Reviews in 2014.
This is John Farrell's first ejection since July 29, 2013 (Jerry Meals; QOC = N).
This is Bob Davidson's first ejection since August 17, 2013 (Jim Leyland; QOC = N).

Wrap: Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees, 4/13/14
Video: Girardi successfully challenges the out at first, leading to Farrell's ejection for arguing it (ESPN)
Video: Despite Davidson's warning not to argue the replay decision, Farrell rants and is tossed (ESPN)

MLB Ejections 003, 004: Toby Basner (1, 2; Wright, Murphy)

HP Umpire Toby Basner ejected Mets 3B David Wright and 2B Daniel Murphy for arguing a strike three call in the top of the 7th inning of the Mets-Angels game. With one out and one on, Mets batter Travis d'Arnaud took a 3-2 fastball from Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located knee high and over the inner half of home plate (px -.463, pz 1.594 / sz_bot 1.480) and that all other pitches during the at-bat were properly officiated (called strike one [.612, 1.756] / strike two was swinging), the call was correct. At the time of the ejections, the Angels were leading, 11-2. The Angels ultimately won the contest, 14-2.

These are Toby Basner (99)'s first and second ejections of 2014.
Toby Basner now has 10 points in the UEFL Standings (0 Previous + 2*[3 AAA + 2 Correct Call] = 10).
These are Crew Chief Fieldin Culbreth's crew's first and second ejections in the UEFL Crew Division.

These are the 3rd and 4th ejections of the 2014 MLB Regular Season.
These are the 2nd and 3rd player ejections of 2014.
Prior to their ejections, David Wright was 1-3 and Daniel Murphy was 0-3 in the contest.
This is the Mets' 1st/2nd ejection of 2014, 1st in the NL East (NYM 2; ATL, MIA, PHI, WAS 0).
This is David Wright's first ejection since May 9, 2010 (Paul Schrieber; QOC = Y).
This is Daniel Murphy's first ejection since August 21, 2013 (Jerry Layne; QOC = U).
These are Toby Basner's first career MLB ejections.

Wrap: New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 4/13/14
Video: Umpire Basner thinks Wright & Murphy doth protest too much from the 1B dugout (NYM)

MLB Ejection 002: Alan Porter (1; Elvis Andrus)

HP Umpire Alan Porter ejected Rangers SS Elvis Andrus for arguing a strike three call in the bottom of the 3rd inning of the Astros-Rangers game. With two out and none on, Andrus took a 1-2 fastball from Astros pitcher Brett Oberholtzer for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located knee high and over the inner half of home plate (px -.603, pz 1.639 / sz_bot 1.460) and that all other pitches during the at-bat were properly officiated (the only other called strike was located at -.273, 1.629), the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the contest was tied, 0-0. The Rangers ultimately won the contest, 1-0.

This is Alan Porter (64)'s first ejection of 2014.
This is Crew Chief Joe West's first ejection in the UEFL Crew Division.

This is the 2nd ejection of the 2014 MLB Regular Season.
This is the 1st player ejection of 2014. Prior to his ejection, Andrus was 0-2 in the contest.
This is the Rangers' first ejection of 2014, 1st in the AL West (TEX 1; HOU, LAA, OAK, SEA 0).
This is Elvis Andrus' first ejection since June 14, 2013 (Eric Cooper; QOC = N).
This is Alan Porter's first ejection since September 7, 2013 (Brandon Barnes; QOC = U).

Wrap: Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers, 4/13/14
Video: After Porter issues an equipment violation for bat throw, Andrus keeps arguing for the ejection (TEX)

MLB Instant Replay Review 083: Brian Knight (02)

Instant Replay Review confirmed 2B Umpire Brian Knight's HR no-call (live ball) in the bottom of the 2nd inning of the Indians-White Sox game. With two out and none on, White Sox batter Dayan Viciedo hit a 0-0 sinker from Indians pitcher Corey Kluber on a fly ball to deep right-center field and off the outfield fence. Upon Instant Replay Review as the result of a request by White Sox Manager Robin Ventura and initiation by Crew Chief Gerry Davis, Knight's ruling that the ball struck the wall and remained in the field of play was affirmed, the call was correct. At the time of the review, the contest was tied, 0-0. The White Sox ultimately won the contest, 4-3.

This is Brian Knight (91)'s second Instant Replay Review of 2014.
Brian Knight is now 2/2 (1.000 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews in 2014.
Crew Chief Gerry Davis crew is now 5/6 (.833 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews in 2014.

This is the 83rd Instant Replay Review of the 2014 MLB Regular Season.
White Sox Manager Robin Ventura is now 0/2 (.000 Success) in Instant Replay Reviews during 2014.
Umpires are now 56/83 (.675 Affirmation Rate) in Instant Replay Reviews during the 2014 MLB season.

Wrap: Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago White Sox, 4/13/14
Video: Ventura questions Viciedo's deep drive, which is confirmed in play for a double (CWS)

MLB Instant Replay Review 082: Mark Ripperger (03)

Instant Replay Review affirmed HP Umpire Mark Ripperger's Rule 7.13 violation no-call (out) in the bottom of the 6th inning of the Marlins-Phillies game. With one out and one on, Phillies batter Chase Utley hit a 1-0 fastball from Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez on a line drive down the left field line, fielded by left fielder Christian Yelich, who threw to shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria to catcher Jeff Mathis as Phillies baserunner R1 Tony Gwynn, Jr. slid into home plate. Upon Instant Replay Review as the result of a request by Phillies Manager Ryne Sandberg and initiation by Crew Chief Gary Cederstrom, Ripperger's ruling that Mathis did not violate the Rule 7.13 home plate collision rule in tagging out Gwynn was affirmed, the call was correct. At the time of the review, the contest was tied, 3-3. The Phillies ultimately won the contest, 4-3.

This is Mark Ripperger (90)'s third Instant Replay Review of 2014.
Mark Ripperger is now 2/3 (.667 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews in 2014.
Crew Chief Gary Cederstrom's crew is now 3/5 (.600 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews in 2014.

This is the 82nd Instant Replay Review of the 2014 MLB Regular Season.
Phillies Manager Ryne Sandberg is now 1/3 (.333 Success) in Instant Replay Reviews during 2014.
Umpires are now 55/82 (.671 Affirmation Rate) in Instant Replay Reviews during the 2014 MLB season.

Wrap: Miami Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies, 4/13/14
Video: Play stands; Ripperger's out call is affirmed as no illegal block of the plate is seen (PHI)

MLB Instant Replay Review 081: Jim Reynolds (03)

Instant Replay Review confirmed 1B Umpire Jim Reynolds' safe call in the bottom of the 7th inning of the Rays-Reds game. With none out and two on, Reds batter Devin Mesoraco hit a 1-2 fastball from Rays pitcher Heath Bell on the ground to shortstop Yunel Escobar, who threw to first baseman James Loney as Mesoraco arrived at first base. Upon Instant Replay Review as the result of a challenge by Rays Manager Joe Maddon, Reynolds' ruling that Loney did not catch and tag first base prior to Mesoraco's touch arrival was affirmed, the call was correct. At the time of the review, the Reds were leading, 8-4. The Reds ultimately won the contest, 12-4.

This is Jim Reynolds (77)'s third Instant Replay Review of 2014.
Jim Reynolds is now 3/3 (1.000 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews in 2014.
Crew Chief Tim Welke's crew is now 4/4 (1.000 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews in 2014.

This is the 81st Instant Replay Review of the 2014 MLB Regular Season.
Rays Manager Joe Maddon is now 2/5 (.400 Success) in Instant Replay Reviews during 2014.
Umpires are now 54/81 (.667 Affirmation Rate) in Instant Replay Reviews during the 2014 MLB season.

Wrap: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cincinnati Reds, 4/13/14
Video: Play stands; Reds single to load the bases in the 7th as Joe Maddon loses his challenge (TB)

MLB Instant Replay Review 080: Joe West (02)

Instant Replay Review overturned 1B Umpire Joe West's safe call in the bottom of the 1st inning of the Astros-Rangers game. With none out and none on, Rangers batter Shin-Soo Choo hit a 0-0 fastball from Astros pitcher Brett Oberholtzer on the ground to second baseman Jose Altuve, who threw to first baseman Jesus Guzman as Choo arrived at first base. Upon Instant Replay Review as the result of a challenge by Astros Manager Bo Porter, West's ruling that Guzman did not catch the ball and tag first base prior to Choo's touch arrival was reversed, the call was incorrect. At the time of the review, the contest was tied, 0-0. The Rangers ultimately won the contest, 1-0.

This is Joe West (22)'s second Instant Replay Review of 2014.
Joe West is now 1/2 (.500 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews in 2014.
Crew Chief Joe West's crew is now 1/3 (.333 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews in 2014.

This is the 80th Instant Replay Review of the 2014 MLB Regular Season.
Astros Manager Bo Porter is now 1/2 (.500 Success) in Instant Replay Reviews during 2014.
Umpires are now 53/80 (.663 Affirmation Rate) in Instant Replay Reviews during the 2014 MLB season.

Wrap: Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers, 4/13/14
Video: Play overturned; First batter of the Rangers' offensive effort is out after replay review (HOU)

Milestone: Tim Welke Works 4,000th MLB Game

Umpire Tim Welke worked his 4,000th MLB game Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati where the Reds hosted the Tampa Bay Rays. Welke served as third base umpire alongside crewmates Dan Bellino (PU), Jim Reynolds (U1) and DJ Reyburn (U2).

Photo: CC-BY-SA-2.0 Wikimedia

Welke becomes the 21st umpire to have worked 4,000 Major League games, joining Gerry Davis, Joe West and Tim McClelland (DL) as the only active umpires to have worked 4,000 career games at the big league level. In his 30 years as a Major League umpire, Welke has officiated two All-Star Games, seven Division Series, seven League Championship Series and four World Series.

His last ejection was in 2012, of Yankees Manager Joe Girardi. The last umpire to break 4,000, McClelland, also last ejected Girardi before his milestone game.

Welke was born in August 1957 and hails from Pontiac, Michigan. A graduate of Coldwater High School, he was inducted into his alma mater's Hall of Fame in 1988.