Commentary Critique - Broadcast Fed Up with Umps

Mets broadcaster Keith Hernandez took issue with MLB umpires ("Awful!") for a missed HR call (correctly overturned via Replay Review) despite Keith himself having missed the same call during his first (and second) viewing of the play.

With the bases loaded during Friday's Mets-Royals game, 1B Umpire John Libka ruled a home run on a fly ball (line drive) into the right field corner, deeming that the batted ball had left the playing field in fair territory.

Hernandez initially agreed that the ball was fair, explaining upon consulting a slow-motion replay from a press box camera angle, "it disappeared behind the foul pole." Yet moments later upon viewing the play for a third time, the second slow-motion review, from a second camera angle in the spectator area along the right field concourse, Hernandez acknowledged that the ball was foul ("my mistake").

Broadcaster's thought process during Replay.

This is generally germane and not too notable, but what makes this commentary stand out and subject to critique is the veteran New York analyst's following comments regarding officiating in the major leagues: "What's with these umpires? Geez! My God! Awful!"

Hernandez, who made the exact same mistake Libka did in deeming the ball fair in real-time, was able to correct his call upon viewing the play for the third time, from a different angle, and in slow-motion. Libka had one chance in real-time and he, like Hernandez, initially had the ball as fair.

As for the play's result, the call was overturned and the play ruled a foul ball. And that's exactly the purpose of Replay Review: to correct mistakes such as these and address the Official Baseball Rules' General Instruction to Umpires: "You are no doubt going to make mistakes."

Someone tell Keith. | Video as follows:

Alternate Link: Broadcaster is not a fan of umps' missed call (that he missed too) (CCS)