Teachable - Trust Your Eyes on Tag Plays

3B Umpire Ryan Blakney called Diamondbacks baserunner Jordan Luplow safe at third base on a close tag play, despite video replay suggesting Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon's glove swiped across the infield edge of third base prior to Luplow's arrival.

In this Teachable, tmac talks about trusting one's eyes on tag plays, noting that Blakney's safe call was confirmed after Rockies manager Bud Black's challenge because slow-motion video conclusively showed that McMahon's tag attempt was so early that it missed making contact with Luplow's hands entirely until Luplow was already on the base.

Officiating a steal play, Blakney gets into position and—key to officiating—gets set with eyes steady and ready to see the missed tag. Despite the optics of the fielder clearly appearing to tag the runner before the runner's arrival—the ball beat the runner, as it were—Blakney trusts his eyes, which observed a missed tag, and in doing so makes the proper safe call that was confirmed after review.

Video as follows:

Alternate Link: Despite optics of a timely tag, Blakney trusts his eyes & correctly calls R2 safe (CCS)