Umpire cries ‘mea Kulpa’ after blowing HBP call
We just couldn’t let this stuff go …
With fans at Citi Field for the first time in 557 days, Michael Conforto and the New York Mets got some serious home cooking.
Even the umpire knew it, writes Mike Fitzpatrick of The Associated Press.
Jeff McNeil launched a tying homer in the ninth inning on his 29th birthday and the Mets were handed the winning run on a disputed hit by pitch for a bizarre 3-2 victory over Miami in their home opener Thursday.
“We caught a little break,” McNeil said. With the bases loaded and one out, a scuffling Conforto stuck out his right elbow pad just enough to get grazed by a 1-2 breaking ball from Marlins closer Anthony Bass that appeared to be in the strike zone.
Plate umpire and crew chief Ron Kulpa at first signaled strike, then quickly ruled Conforto was hit by the pitch. Conforto headed to first base as Luis Guillorme scored and the Mets celebrated a fortuitous comeback win.
“That one there, makes a clear move to get hit, try to get hit. But for me I guess the tough part is, you can’t really tell on the replay if it hits him or not,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said. “And I guess the toughest part is, it’s just a strike. Kind of that simple. You would think all the replay we do, that you could say that ball’s a strike. I wonder what happens when they put the automated strike zone in?”
Mattingly and his players argued with Kulpa before the umps went to a replay review that lasted 58 seconds. The call was upheld.
“It’s one of those plays where it looked like the guy was hit,” Kulpa told a pool reporter. “The guy was hit by the pitch in the strike zone. I should have called him out.”
“He didn’t get hit by a pitch — he got hit by a strike . ... He went to call it, and then he says it hit him,” Mattingly lamented. “So if it’s a strike, how can it be a hit by pitch?”
Trivia question
According to Statcast, who was the fastest player in the major leagues last season?
He said it
From Mets first baseman Peter Alonso ,on opening the season in Philadelphia: “I don’t think I’ve ever been that happy to see a bunch of Philadelphia fans. They were really enthusiastic, they were really into the game. It was awesome. I know they were booing us, but I missed that, in a way.”
Trivia answer
Arizona’s Tim Locastro claims the title. He was clocked at 30.8 feet per second while legging out a triple against the Dodgers late last season. By comparison, shortstop Fernando Tatis, the fastest Padres player, was clocked at 29.3 feet per second. In addition to his speed, Locastro has a knack for getting hit by pitches (without being obvious). He set a record last year with the most HBPs in under 300 at-bats with 22, 8.8 percent of the time, boosting his on-base percentage to .357.