A power outage prevented a Phillies instant replay challenge Thursday as the Yankees retired Phillies batter-runner John Mayberry, Jr. attempting to stretch a double into a triple in the bottom of the 7th inning. With two out and none on, Mayberry hit a line drive off Yankees pitcher Danny Burawa to right fielder Adonis Garcia, who
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| Do not adjust your set: Power outage strikes Phils. |
threw to shortstop Yangervis Solarte to third baseman Scott Sizemore, Mayberry ruled out at third by 3B Umpire Tom Hallion. When Phillies Manager Ryne Sandberg visited the umpires to challenge the play, Hallion crew encountered technical difficulties—replay official Phil Cuzzi attempted to view the challenged call in the TV production truck, but only saw a blank screen. Because of the power failure, no video of the Mayberry play was available to the umpires (nor to the broadcasters—the video link below contains the
aftermath of the play, in question but not the play itself). In the absence of instant replay, Hallion & company relied on 2013 umpiring mechanics—Hallion, HP Umpire Mark Wegner, 1B Umpire Vic Carapazza and 2B Umpire Toby Basner conferenced and decided not to reverse Hallion's original ruling of out. Because no replays are available, the call is inconclusive. At the time of the technical glitch, the Phillies were leading, 3-2. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 4-3.
The chaos even infiltrated MLB Gameday's game summary, which described the play thusly:
Play reviewed and stands as called: John Mayberry doubles (1) on a line drive to right fielder Adonis Garcia. John Mayberry out at 3rd, right fielder Adonis Garcia to shortstop Yangervis Solarte to third baseman Scott Sizemore.
Technically, the original ruling did stand—Mayberry was put out. On the other hand, the extent of "review" that took place doesn't quite fit the qualification bill for a wholesome instant replay challenge.
Wrap:
New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies (Grapefruit League Spring Training), 3/6/14
Video:
Aftermath of the power failure at Bright House Field in Florida—no video of the play (PHI)
