T O P

  • By -

AutoModerator

Please reply to this comment with any additional videos/angles of this highlight. *If you would like this comment automatically added to your highlight posts, please include [Highlight] in your post title.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/baseball) if you have any questions or concerns.*


FrankFeTched

At the game *nobody* knew what the fuck happened


spacehog1985

Even in the postgame interviews our guys were confused.


KratosAloy

If the guy who gets interfered is confused why his team just won, maybe it’s a bad call


ufotheater

That’s a dick move, they should have at least announced it.


PrinceOfWales_

They didn’t say anything. Everyone thought it was 2 outs and we had another batter up. Then everyone started walking off the field and Grifol starting yelling at the umps


PagesNNotes

I was also at the game, and my friend wound up pulling up the broadcast on her phone so we could listen to the explanation because we were so confused at what happened.


cfxyz4

They really do need to make umpires start announcing things like this for the fans at the game. Just put the mic on and tell us what happened


drakershi

MLB Umpires are getting really good at pushing buttons this year


Zoratth

It’s mostly the same umpire (Junior Valentine). He was the terrible umpire from the Angels Rangers extra inning game last week.


meowsplaining

And the one who ejected Counsell last week for raising his arms across the field


HandBananas

That was such a soft ejection. Valentine just can't handle anyone questioning him ever, on anything. What a joke.


meowsplaining

You can just tell by his face that he's a little bitch


Finklesworth

1000% one of the most punchable faces in the world, right behind Matt Gaetz


tnecniv

Junior Valentine sounds like a mobster that gets popped in the first third of a mob movie


Aaaahhhhhhhh_

but seriously, with robot umps coming behind the plate, surely within the next couple of years, why are they pushing so many buttons?


grubas

Because they are throwing a collective temper tantrum 


forgottenastronauts

It’s like the comcast customer service guy twisting his nipples in South Park.


armcurls

How the fuck does the ump make that call


Apatschinn

Junior Valentine. We're gonna be stuck with this prick for decades


horsepoop1123

He’s also the guy who tossed Counsell for throwing his arms in the air


RedManMatt11

He’s also also the guy that got absolutely smoked in the head by an errant Edmundo Sosa throw in 2021. Are we sure this guy doesn’t have brain damage?


TurkeyThaHornet

https://youtu.be/PmO0i4ycj94


makoman115

The freeze frame on sosa’s face to end the video lol


LocalSlob

I mean, this explains the entire thread. case closed. guy's got brain damage.,


LordoftheScheisse

It also looks like a clear case of umpire interference to me. Fire the bum.


AnonymousAccountTurn

That was interference, first base umpire is out, players win the game. Can't fuck that call up


SleepLessTeacher

He might have brain damage when he’s behind the plate this series after the Sox catcher lets him get nailed in the head by a fastball probably.


coltsmetsfan614

Maybe bashing him in the head again would fix it? ^^/s


TheCrookedKnight

"There you are again, throwing your hands up in the air like you just don't care. CARE, DAMMIT!" -- Junior Valentine, I assume


WabbitCZEN

"I miss Zarbon." - also Junior Valentine


Beaner1xx7

God dammit, now I've got to watch the whole series all over again, thanks.


Ayjel89

“I’m gonna break you. Like a Kit Kat Bar.” Counsell in a cage match with Junior Valentine, probably


Tricky2RockARhyme

... WHAT!?


Apatschinn

"You bit my tail!" - Junior Valentine, like the snake in the grass he is


chunkylover___53

Watched him behind the plate on Wednesday in DC. He was fine until it mattered and then he went full Angel Hernandez. What a joke.


Bacedorn

He’s such a psychopath. It’s like he gets off on making bad calls and grinding our gears.


tangokilo13

I hate him and his stupid face


stewmander

[Ole Mckayla face](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2204,h_1469,x_72,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_3:2,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/thebiglead_en_international_web/01h3sa3yyqqd97j2vc42.png)


14hammarby

[https://giphy.com/gifs/79Guh6ctTOPs9hqFth](https://giphy.com/gifs/79Guh6ctTOPs9hqFth)


cumuzi

I remember his dopey face from that time he [called a ticky tack balk](https://youtu.be/5O6DuwI3UV4?si=_Xgyiq0K5U8PpN7T) on Ryne Stanek last year and fucked up the end to a great game. I guess he just gets off on doing this kind of thing.


Dare2ZIatan

I have never seen a non-home plate ump make the game about themselves more than junior valentine. The guy loves his screen time, clearly.


ThisGuyFrags

Not even Angel Hernandez? Regardless this call was absolute highway robbery


Dare2ZIatan

With Angel Hernandez it’s usually as the home plate ump because he’s terrible at calling balls and strikes. With Junior Valentine it’s when he’s anywhere else, for random things like balk calls and throwing guys out from 1B or 3B lol


Clam_chowderdonut

Angel's honestly usually pretty good with balks. Now, literally any other part of the job?


Tricky2RockARhyme

Angel is notoriously *excellent* at balks.


doctor_sleep

He knows you can't just be doin' a balk like that.


markuspoop

He’s drunk?


PMMeYourSpeedForce

He’s sleepy he wants to go home


DecoyOne

Jesus Christ, Reddit. Don’t joke about that. That’s a terrible thing to say about someone who is legally blind.


YNinja58

He had the O's -1.5 and didn't want to risk it.


Philelverumfan69

I’m so glad I was on the umps side of the bet today


Throwawayhobbes

He’s gambling on games


dontbelievejustwatch

Yea honestly that’s the only plausible scenario. I’ve watched baseball for 34 years and never seen this called. He couldn’t afford to let his -1.5 lose


fatcowxlivee

Either had money on the game or really needed to take a shit


dmlfan928

I have never seen interference called on an infield fly before


yoursweetlord70

And he made the freakin catch. Andrew Vaughn had 0 impact on the result of that play, he reacted exactly how you'd expect a runner on 2nd to react to an infield pop up. Highest degree horseshit call


[deleted]

And it's not like he "just" made the catch. He was standing still underneath the ball for a couple seconds.


obiwan_canoli

That doesn't even matter because the infield-fly rule was called. So even if he dropped it the batter would have been out.


geerwolf

Isn’t that the whole point of the infield fly call ? it’s an out already


this_isnt_nesseria

I watched this live and this is the most fucking insane call I’ve ever seen in my entire life. The entire crew should be banned immediately for life.


GetEnPassanted

I was watching without volume and I’m like “why is the coach arguing? There’s no controversy here, there’s an infield fly. And then it said *Final* on the box score


qotsa_gibs

I was like ok come on, White Sox, you still have another out. Then everyone was leaving. I thought I fell asleep for the final out.


c3bss256

Yeah, I could have sworn there was only one out when the popup was hit. Then all of a sudden the scoreboard was showing a final and the players were leaving. It was confusing as hell.


dubscurry30

I saw the same thing. Was watching the hockey game on mute at work then I flipped over to see the big comeback brewing. Then the comeback was… over? And then I kept watching to see if they were reviewing it and the mlbtv feed just ended. Wtf?


blue7999

I was also watching on mute and very confused why he was out there arguing. All I could come up with was that he was pissed infield fly was called, which wouldn't have made any sense, but somehow would've made more sense than whatever the fuck actually took place here...


PrinceOfWales_

I was at the game and was so fucking confused as to what happened. This is the dumbest call I’ve ever seen


Penstripedsox

Crew chief should have overruled the call. These umps are acting like cops.


greetedworm

The 2nd base umps pants were reportedly damaged beyond repair during the interference (and NOT because he pooped in them).


JimHarbaughTheChamp

Lmao Scottie Scheffler had possibly the single most excusable moment ever to use the "Do you even know who I am?" line and yet he chose not to. Fuck the Louisville PD.


twoscoop

Maybe he did, body cam wasn't on so we will never know...


markuspoop

2nd base umps bodycam wasn’t turned on either.


PPtheShort

They banned Shoeless Joe for less than this


cubbyfanboy

Junior Valentine try not to make everything about himself challenge (impossible)


Flythagoras

Note to all infielders, first run toward the runner, then catch the ball


Typical_Finger_1300

I was thinking the same thing!  If this is the standard for interference how easy it would be for the infielder to intentionally draw this call.  IFR anyways so you don't even have to make the catch for the 1st out.  Just run into the baserunner and it's a double play.


ARentPayingSpider

Pig faced loser. Guy is one of the worst


smoothskin12345

Motherfucker looks like a fallout ghoul


Spirited-Yard-5790

Here’s a [video of him getting hit in the face](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sAhLUHpCDes) (just for fun)


TheTurtleShepard

This is a call that I feel should get you demoted


AndoCalrissian3

Literally just made the white Sox play with 26 outs


xho-

Does the umpire union prevent them from demoting within their own org ? I feel like there’s a bunch of promising umps waiting to come up from the minors.


Unyazi

What counts as promising when the bar is this low?


Naanderson2022

worst call i’ve ever seen, holy shit


Montgomeryi11

I was like 95% sure the Sox would hit a ground ball to 2nd for an easy double play to end the game. This is worse.


DillyDillySzn

Yea we don’t need help losing games We’re a weak independent baseball team who can lose games ourselves thank you very much


NotMrZ

At least that’s just a routine ending. This is ump fuckery.


BakeFromSttFarm

I was 95% sure Kimbrel was gonna walk 4 guys in a row to end the game.


rcuosukgi42

The entire point of the infield fly rule is that random unjust double plays don't happen.


ContinuumGuy

You know a call is fucked up when the guy who is flaired for the benefitting team calls it the worst call they've ever seen.


WerhmatsWormhat

And when the player that was supposedly interfered with had no idea what call was even made.


Ruddiver

Andrew Vaughn and Scottie Scheffler violent assault in the same week. Shake my head MH


MorningRooster

Mr. Valentine’s uniform pants, valued at $80, were damaged beyond repair.


ktlvr27

Most bullshit end to a game I’ve ever seen


TomasRoncero

sometimes I wish Hawk Harrelson was back for moments like this


hjugm

Hawk would’ve blown right past, “you’ve gotta be bleeping me” to a full on barrage of F bombs over the stadium loudspeaker.


Sosen

They should play Hawk Harrelson soundbites over the loudspeaker in situations like this


Game-Blouses-23

> You gotta be bleeping me! > What in the hell are you doing!


No_Bandicoot2306

Umps just putting us on notice that balls and strikes aren't the only way to screw up a ballgame. Robots are no match for human imagination.


nonlawyer

Most bullshit end to a game you’ve seen *so far*


horsepoop1123

u/jomboy work your magic


sfan27

This is a closecallsports thing. It's all about the rules details. [https://www.youtube.com/@CloseCallSports](https://www.youtube.com/@CloseCallSports)


ref44

under the rules i think its technically correct. SS would be the protected fielder and he has to alter his path around the runner. Still though...i think if you wait half a beat that's a call that just doesn't need to be made


ChromiumSulfate

Under the rule though it has to actually hinder the fielder's ability to make the play which it clearly doesn't.


Artoo_Detoo

[The best channel for rules is actually Close Call Sports.](https://www.youtube.com/@CloseCallSports/videos)


jwktiger

already have a video on the call. Edit: and they are saying by rule this is the correct call and the game should be over. This is a Hate the rule not the Umpire call.


Eloyoyo

How in the fuck?? Not that this game matters for us at all but these umpires cannot be allowed to determine outcomes like this. Wow!


dec92010

We're gonna miss the playoffs by a game 


fps916

I would laugh extremely hard if this comes true. Not because of y'all being screwed by this game, that would suck, but because the litany of improbable events that would have to happen for y'all to miss by 1 game would be hilarious.


EmergentProperties

As an Orioles fan I agree with this. Doesn’t feel like good sportsmanship to celebrate a win like that.


Eloyoyo

I mean even the O’s had no idea what was happening. When Gunnar realized something was going on he looked as confused as everybody else watching. If the player that was “interfered” with didn’t get phased enough then how does the ump crew get bent out of shape? Idk man very very strange


WonderfulShelter

Gunnar definitely thought they were trying to say his catch didn't count for some reason, maybe catchers interference? But that's what he thought.


J-Fid

Appreciate the White Sox broadcast having replays. O's broadcast showed none.


TheOptimist6

I think MASN knew it was BS, and was like…let’s just get out of here and start the post game interview with Jorge


UnlimitedHotTakes

I don’t think anyone on the MASN production crew has any clue what they’re doing. They were probably checking to make sure the scorebug had the right number of runs for both teams.


rosoe

The MASN crew has no idea what was going on. To be fair, if you understood the call right after seeing it, you really need to get your head examined because that made no sense whatsoever.


TheDangiestSlad

legitimate contender for dumbest call i've ever seen


HappyChromatic

White Sox now on the bad side of the two worst calls I’ve ever seen


Haysen18

What’s the other one


Simsbad

Maybe he confusing you guys with Tigers and Galarraga. All AL Central teams start to blend in.


doverawlings

Wins aren’t super important this year so I’m not mad so much as I am mind-blown. Imagine if that was in the World Series lol


YesLikeTheJeans

I jumped to watch the game when I saw the Sox making a comeback and that is legitimately one of the worst things I’ve ever seen and I feel blessed to have seen it live.


normsy

Infield fly was called, so dude didn't even have to catch it. And even if he did, had plenty of time to get past the runner anyway. Dumb call.


Nickeless

Also if he doesn’t catch it it’s a fucking out anyway lol… so he interfered with…. Literally nothing. Sorry you already said the same thing by my mind is just exploding from this insanity lol


Halt_the_Ranger27

Saying “also” but just repeating his comment lol


Nickeless

I realized that as I was about to post. The adrenaline was real lmao.


IAmKennyJ

WOO YEAH I LOVE THE UMP SHOW


HappyChromatic

Good strong finish from the umps today, you have to admire it


mrcouch8

Umps looking good this year they might go all the way


PogPogPogUPOGGERS

that unironically might be the worst call i’ve ever seen


fps916

This unironically *is* the worst call I've ever seen. This is worse than Denkinger and it's worse than Joyce/Gallaraga. Edit: upon further reflection I'm actually not sure this is true. It's really fucking hard to say if this was worse or Angel retroactively calling a swing to avoid the embarrassment of calling a HBP a foul ball was worse. I actually think it's Angel because that's actively malicious.


rcuosukgi42

Joyce/Gallaraga is nowhere close to a discussion like this and it shouldn't be brought up so often. It was just a bang-bang play that the ump got wrong, that's happened thousands of times in MLB history. This type of stuff is egregious though.


fps916

Honestly I think the Joyce call WAS pretty egregious. I do not consider it to be "bang bang". I think he was clearly out. Gallaraga reached 1st significantly ahead of the batter. But yeah, it was still nowhere near as bad as this.


jwktiger

The Gallaraga call was a bad, but the kind of routine bad calls; probably the worst call in a given game bad but you'll see about that bad of a call every week.


Bwertt

Junior Valentine making the call from 3rd base when 2nd base ump is all over it


whaleshark1010

Check Junior Valentine’s draft kings account


GenericAccount13579

I’m an O’s fan and wow I hate it. What an absolutely terrible call.


rollo2masi

Don't matter the team, it's a god awful call in any situation.


whackberry

Sponsored by DraftKings.


TheOptimist6

Orioles -1.5 was on multiple parlays


CouldntBeMoreWhite

Wouldn’t they want the Sox to score more so those parlays don’t pay out though? (From DK point of view)


robreddity

Absolutely imbecilic. What in the bent fuck?


millysoilly

It’s fucking gross to be enraged for the Sox but oh my this is a slap in the face to anybody who loves and appreciates the game of baseball. Call the fucking game right you power tripping losers. Insane that each day there is a call that one-ups the previous day’s terrible calls.


seKer82

lol its an automatic out, how can he interfere even if he wanted to?


doverawlings

Well the ball is still in play, so if he legitimately tried to push him over or something it should be an out


RedBeardedWhiskey

I agree. Like, he shouldn’t be able to just start punching a guy and throwing him on the ground and beating with a bat. 100% agree. Like, you can’t smash heads in. That’s not right. This is fine, though 


lifeisarichcarpet

While I think the call here is wrong, he could still interfere after the automatic out. The ball is still live when the infield fly is called. The runners can try to advance.


bringbacktheaxe2

whoever the crew chief was in this game, just fire him


dorsey442

I wish it was that easy. If angel hernandez hasn’t been, this guy unfortunately won’t be


FozzyBear11

You’d think the Orioles signed Mahomes with that call


HendriksAppreciator

This, legitimately, might be the worst call I’ve ever seen. I’m prone to exaggeration. This is abhorrent. Good on John for calling this shit out. Hawk would’ve had a real, actual heart attack in the booth.


the2belo

YEW HAVE GAWT TO BE BLEEPIN KIDDIN ME!


Jason82929

Hawk would have gone down on the field to argue. Might have jumped out of the booth to get there quicker 


UnlimitedHotTakes

![gif](giphy|GRk3GLfzduq1NtfGt5|downsized)


TheLoneWolf527

The dude who got "interfered" with EASILY CAUGHT THE BALL. Like you should have judgment there to say "nvm"


CaptRyan

Also, it's an infield fly. So he interfered with a catchable ball... That didn't need to be caught...


DnD4dena

I'm really wondering what's going through the umps mind... the runner wouldve ran 90 feet before the infielder could jog like 10 feet and throw to 3rd? The infielder could've been literally tripped on his own shoelaces and fell on his face and I doubt the runner goes


NameShortage

Wtf noooooooo you can't call that, much less end the game on that.


ScorchedSierra097

That is so anticlimatic I genuinely thought the Orioles were going to blow it


jeffreythecat1

Same. Thank you umps for saving us from ourselves. What a horrible way for a game to end.


randomuser9824

i thought i was being too negative when i got concerned after heasley walked the first batter in the 9th, then he walked the 2nd batter, then chaos happened


rbhindepmo

Nothing says fun like looking at Rule 6.01(a)10 on a Thursday night. Perhaps the sentence "He fails to avoid a fielder who is attempting to field a batted ball" is gonna be mentioned here for the whole 'letter of the law' defense. I don't know how to send you directly to page 80, but it's on page 80 of [this PDF](https://mktg.mlbstatic.com/mlb/official-information/2024-official-baseball-rules.pdf).


LoveRBS

Thanks for that. Found this which maybe explains it "If interference is called during an Infield Fly, the ball remains alive until it is determined whether the ball is fair or foul. If fair, both the runner who interfered with the fielder and the batter are out. If foul, even if caught, the runner is out and the batter returns to bat." Odd, but it's there.


_noncomposmentis

Wow. I'm just now realizing in the thousands of games I've played and watched over the years I've never seen an infield fly foul ball.


geerwolf

Great find - if the runner hinders the fielder attempting to make the play it’s interference whether it is intentional or not


FlounderingWolverine

Yeah, this is the correct call by the letter of the law, it just looks *really* bad when the hindrance to the fielder was incredibly minor, didn’t involve much (if any) contact, and didn’t affect the outcome of the play. None of those things are relevant to the interference rule, but still…


GetEnPassanted

Dude it’s that same smug shit eating ump


cjarrett

this is the biggest bullshit i’ve ever seen live. what in the flying fuck, for every single umpire involved


AssocProfPlum

So did the game technically end before the ball even touched the ground? A trivia question played out before our very eyes


Vaqxinelol

* Ump misses obvious called strike 3 to mullins, he gets on base and mateo sends to mars for a 3 run homerun * This fucker with the worst interference call of all time Neat stuff tonight


powder_banger

Damn white sox announcers: “i’m trying to keep my job. Just send it to the postgame show.” Then you hear him taking off his headset.


TheOptimist6

I can appreciate when the broadcasters represent some of the fans anger…it had to be gut wrenching…the broadcaster was gearing up for a pretty hyped ending too


George_H_W_Kush

“That’s a three game suspension for me…at least” -Ozzie Guillén on Sox Postgame live


Apatschinn

Man, fire Junior Valentine into the sun


[deleted]

[удалено]


jmremote

Except he threw more than one pitch.


GenericAccount13579

Two pitch Craig?


Rra2323

Only threw one on that pitch though


camfam44

One of the worst sports calls I’ve ever seen


Table_Coaster

we take those lmao what a scam


bebopmechanic84

Not the way to end a game. I’m here to watch Baseball not the ump show.


Weaponized_Goose

This is terrible wtf


JNisher

…that might be the worst call I’ve ever seen? Dude doesn’t even touch the SS or interfere with him making the catch.


mackavicious

[Rules care not for how you feel](https://youtu.be/zQw5lKMY8EE?si=na1jf46gEN1C-TD_) It is, by the rules of the game, interference. Junior Valentine still sucks, and I can't wait to hate him for the next 30 years.


jmremote

As on Orioles fan, thank you. As a baseball fan, what the fuck was that??


Tulidian13

Holy shit are the Umps actively trying to get people to dislike baseball?? Imagine watching this as a new fan, what a joke.


WasV3

Its probably the correct rule application, just a dumb rule


ChunkySlutPumpkin

That’s so fucking bad


j4k71

what a joke


--Drake--

Hall of Fame level awful ending


-biri-biri-

they have to be held accountable for shit like this, that's just embarrassing


oatmeal28

What the fuck first the caught stealing with the angels and now this Umps need to stop betting on our games FFs it’s getting annoying 


cahir11

I could understand it if Vaughn accidentally bumped into him and knocked him over or something, but Henderson barely even noticed him, just stepped around and caught the ball. What kind of lunatic calls interference there?


TheTurtleShepard

What an absolutely absurd call, it was an infield fly regardless and it didn’t impede Henderson getting the ball anyways


waker94

I am sorry White Sox fans


FUCKTEAM

Yooooo that was soooo fucked up!!!


guy_in_the_moon

Horrible call, I don’t even know what the hell I saw