Catcher’s rule makes Cubs’ Maddon mad
Manager takes issue with guideline on blocking the plate.
Joe Maddon was ejected by the umpires Saturday night, but his real beef is with Major League Baseball’s rules.
Maddon was tossed for arguing an overturned call at home plate in the Chicago Cubs’ 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the NL Championship Series opener, then let loose on baseball’s rule governing potential collisions with catchers.
In the seventh inning, the Dodgers’ Charlie Culberson was originally called out at home after a single by Justin Turner. After a video review that took 2 minutes, 45 seconds, Culberson was ruled safe because of the way catcher Willson Contreras blocked the plate.
Contreras extended his left leg as he caught the ball, preventing Culberson from touching home as he slid past. MLB instituted a rule prior to the 2014 season banning catchers from blocking home plate until they have possession of the ball.
After the replay, Maddon stormed out of the dugout and began to argue, first with plate umpire Lance Barksdale and then crew chief Mike Winters. Winters let him make a brief case before tossing him. Maddon said he got ejected to make a point.
“I’m not arguing against the umpires. I thought the umpires did a great job,” Maddon said. “I thought the game was well-officiated. I thought whoever had to make that decision, you put them in a bad decision in a replay booth in New York City.”
Maddon called it “a great baseball play” and said he thought the throw from left fielder Kyle Schwarber took Contreras toward the baseline. “He catches the ball and his technique was absolutely 100 percent perfect,” Maddon said.
Maddon reiterated that he “could not disagree more with the interpretation” of the rule.
“The umpires did everything according to what they’ve been told, but I, from Day One, have totally disagreed with the context of that rule. I think it’s wrong. I think anybody that’s played major league or even minor league baseball will agree with me 100 percent on that,” he said.
Fan gives Astros a hand: This time, the 12-year-old fan reaching for a home run in the AL Championship Series had no interest in helping the New York Yankees.
Carson Riley, a young Houston fan wearing an old-fashioned Astros jersey, tried to make a catch in the front row of seats when Carlos Correa lined a shot over the right-field wall Saturday in the fourth inning of Game 2. There was no fan interference on the play, and Correa circled the bases with a solo home run.
“I love that kid,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said after a second consecutive 2-1 victory gave his team a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. “I want to leave that kid tickets.”
Riley’s moment in the spotlight came more than two decades after 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier famously reached over the wall during the 1996 ALCS at Yankee Stadium, benefiting New York when Derek Jeter hit a tying homer in the eighth inning against Baltimore. Long before Major League Baseball adopted instant replay, the Yankees went on to win that game in 11 innings and later won the World Series.
After Correa rounded the bases, Yankees manager Joe Girardi went out to talk to the umpires. The homer stood for a 1-0 Astros lead after a crew chief review.
The replay showed that the ball appeared to have crossed over the yellow line, and that the boy was reaching with his glove on top of the wall. The ball also seemed to be beyond the reach of 6-foot-7 Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, who was going back toward the wall when the ball ricocheted off Riley’s glove and into the seats.
“Well, we saw the hands there. I wish sometimes they had a camera that went straight along the fence,” Girardi said. “It’s really close. I can see why they didn’t overturn it ... with the angles they have.”
After the ball went into the seats, Judge punched his glove. He seemed frustrated about not being in position for another home run-robbing catch — like the one he had in Game 3 of the AL Division Series that the Yankees won 1-0 against Cleveland — and not because the boy reached for the ball.
“I got back there a little late,” Judge said. “I just wasn’t able to get back and get a good read to the wall and get up there and make a play.”
The Riley family also was at Game 1 on Friday night, but not in those same seats near Judge, the slugging rookie who is a front-runner for the AL MVP along with Astros second baseman Jose Altuve.
Altuve, Carson’s favorite player, scored the winning run in the ninth inning Saturday on Correa’s double into the right-center gap.
“I thought we were going to heckle ( Judge). But he’s been real nice with all the kids, throwing the balls back and forth,” said Riley’s father, Michael. “He threw him a ball right before that, too, between innings. He’s cool.”