Fox never showed a different angle of Brendan Ryan's final swing/checked swing, the swing/checked swing that completed Philip Humber's perfect game. This YouTube video purports to show the final pitch from the first-base side.
Well, if this is legit, that settles that, am I right? It's clearly [muffle muffle muffle]
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Based on the bat's shadow, the angle of Safeco, and the latitude of Seattle, the only way this could have been a strike is if it occurred between 1:42pm - 2:15pm PDT.
I think MLB can safely place an asterisk next to this one.
Which is fine by me. Tie goes to the guy making history.
According to ML rules, when a player attempts at a ball, it is a strike.
Show the above picture to 100 people and ask them if the hitter is making an "attempt" at the ball.
Of course, then where would Kevin Youkilis be?
Seriously, have you seen the footage of the last pitch in Larsen's perfect game? Questionable for sure, but the call was "strike three" and that's that. Ditto here.
What if the picture above illustrated the bat position of a bunt attempt?? .... the bat is clearly over home plate and the right elbow is far from the body - which only happens during an attempt ...
Not only was this the right call - it wasincredible umpiring by Runge to have the courage and wits about him to make the call quickly and decisively so that the play could unfold...
Had the hitter, who has a reputation as a bad attitude guy, sprinted to 1st base immediately upon the call instead of whining and showing up the umpire - it would have been an interesting play at 1st base.
MLB Official Baseball Rules, Rule 2.00 A Strike (a):
A STRIKE is a legal pitch when so called by the umpire, which---Is struck at by the batter and is missed.
Pretty direct and to the point.
NOTE: The “wrist†break or bat passing over the front plane of the plate are merely “guides†used by the umpire to make a determination of “swing†or “no swing.â€
A) It is simply a matter of umpire judgment as to whether or not a batter attempted a swing. There is no such rule or “requirement†that either a batter’s wrists must “break†or that the bat must cross the front plane of the plate when he attempts to check his swing in order for the umpire to rule it as a swing.
B) Same as the wrist/plane of plate thing above. That is, umpire judgment prevails as to whether the batter actually attempted to strike the ball. Just because a batter simply “squares around†to bunt a pitched ball and subsequently leaves the bat in that position does not automatically result as an attempted swing.
Lifted from: http://www.sdabu.com/mistakes_facts.htm
Not sure what the debate is. He struck at the ball. Moving along...
I know that also isn't the "rule" but seems to be a fair standard for this particular judgment call. It would be nice to see more guidance on check swings - one of my few pet peeves about the game.
I hope that was written in sarcasm. Officials rarely look at replay on offsides calls. and even if they did, the entire premise of the NFL is based on judgment calls fraught with human error, to wit:
-Where a kick went out-of-bounds
-Where to mark the ball down
-Where to mark the ball down again when bringing it back from an incomplete pass
-Where to spot the chains on the sidelines on first down
For example, how often does that guy in the chain gang set the chain down within a tolerance of, say 2-3 cm, from where it is spotted on the hashmark 70 feet, 9 inches away, based solely on his line of sight?
Almost EVERY decision in the NFL is based on line of sight being extropolated out by the referees. If that isn't the epitome of using human "judgment" to make the call, I don't know what is.
As a young boy, I remember how my uncle, a professional surveyor, laughed when they brought the chains out for a fourth down measurement. He compared it to leisurely pacing off a mile, then carefully using a ruler to gage the last 12 inches, and trying to claim that one had therefore measured an "exact" mile.
That comment stuck with me all these years. And I hope it sticcks with you, too.