American League Umpire Jim Joyce now has a twofer. Earlier, he spoiled a perfect game with two outs in the ninth-inning by calling a runner safe at first when he was clearly out by a full step.
In the fourth game of the 2013 Cardinals-Red Sox World Series, Joyce managed another blunder by awarding St. Louis the win over an alleged obstruction of a base runner. According to the rulebook, obstruction is called when the fielder is not making a play. In this case, the Boston third baseman dove for the ball, it ticked off his glove and rolled into left-field foul territory. The sprawling fielder was clearly making a play. The runner tripped over the third baseman's legs, got up and headed for home. The Red Sox left fielder recovered the errant throw, fired to home, and the runner was out.
The home plate umpire didn't make the call because he'd seen Joyce signal obstruction, and the runner scored the winning run.
The umpiring crew called a very unusual press conference and tried to explain away a highly questionable call. I don't recall them referring to the fact that the base runner involved in the tangle, and who later scored the winning run, was out of the baseline when he tripped. This should have nullified the alleged obstruction. The umpires also noted that the downed third baseman raised his legs further obstructing the runner. It appeared that the Red Sox third baseman was simply trying to get up and never saw the runner. The action was behind him, and replays show him looking straight ahead.
It appears that once more Jim Joyce was overwhelmed by the moment, First, a bad call amid the tension of a near-perfect game, Second, caught up in the spirit of a howling St. Louis crowd and awarding a win on a marginal play.
In the NBA, for example, you need to commit under-the-basket mayhem in the last seconds of a crucial game in order to get a foul called. The referees credo is: Earn the basket and the win. I'm not going to give it to you, especially in final-round championship games.
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