MLB Ejection 128 - Jerry Layne (3; AJ Hinch)

2B Umpire Jerry Layne ejected Tigers manager AJ Hinch (Replay Review decision that upheld Layne's safe call at second base) in the bottom of the 7th inning of the #Tigers-#WhiteSox game. With one out and one on (R1), White Sox batter Yasmani Grandal hit a 0-2 fastball from Tigers pitcher Joe Jimenez for a fly ball to center fielder Riley Greene, who threw to second base as White Sox baserunner R1 Jose Abreu tagged and attempted to advance, originally ruled safe by Layne, and upheld via Replay Review after a manager's challenge by Tigers manager Hinch. Replays fail to conclusively indicate whether the fielder's glove made contact with the runner's helmet, uniform, or body while the runner was off the base, the "call stands" ruling was correct. At the time of the ejection, the White Sox were leading, 5-4. The White Sox ultimately won the contest, 6-4.

This is Jerry Layne (24)'s 3rd ejection of 2022.

Jerry Layne now has 13 points in the UEFL Standings (9 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 13).

Crew Chief Jerry Layne now has 7 points in Crew Division (6 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 7).

This is the 128th ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is the 71st manager ejection of 2022.

This is Detroit's 4th ejection of 2022, 2nd in the AL Central (CWS 5; DET 4; KC, MIN 3; CLE 1).

This is AJ Hinch's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since June 19 (Jansen Visconti; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Jerry Layne's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since July 31 (Bob Melvin; QOC = Y [Replay Review]).

Wrap: Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox, 8/13/22 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 127 - Paul Emmel (3; Bob Melvin)

HP Umpire Paul Emmel ejected Padres manager Bob Melvin (Replay Review decision that overturned Emmel's out call to that of a home plate collision violation [safe, run scored]; QOCY) in the bottom of the 7th inning of the #Padres-#Nationals game. With two out and one on (R2), Nationals batter Victor Robles hit a first-pitch sinker from Padres pitcher Luis Garcia on a ground ball to right fielder Juan Soto, who threw to catcher Austin Nola as Nationals baserunner R2 Cesar Hernandez arrived at home plate, ruled out by HP Umpire Emmel. Upon Replay Review as the result of a manager's challenge by Nationals manager Dave Martinez, the call was overturned to a home plate collision/blocking violation by Nola, the penalty for which awarded Nationals runner Hernandez home plate and a run scored. Replays indicate that Padres catcher Nola failed to provide runner Hernandez with a pathway to home plate by moving into Hernandez's path well in advance of the ball's arrival; the throw did not take Nola into the runner's path, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Nationals were leading, 4-3. The Nationals ultimately won the contest, 4-3.

This is Paul Emmel (50)'s 3rd ejection of 2022.

Paul Emmel now has 12 points in the UEFL Standings (8 Prev + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 12).

Crew Chief Paul Emmel now has 5 points in Crew Division (4 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 5).

Official Baseball Rule 6.01(i)(2): "Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as they are attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the umpire, the catcher without possession of the ball blocks the pathway of the runner, the umpire shall call or signal the runner safe. Not withstanding the above, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule 6.01(i)(2) if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in a legitimate attempt to field the throw (e.g., in reaction to the direction, trajectory or the hop of the incoming throw, or in reaction to a throw that originates from a pitcher or drawn-in infielder)."

This is the 127th ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is the 70th manager ejection of 2022.

This is San Diego's 5th ejection of 2022, 1st in the NL West (SD 5; SF 4; ARI 3; COL 2; LAD 1).

This is Bob Melvin's 4th ejection of 2022, 1st since July 31 (Jerry Layne; QOC = Y [Replay Review]).

This is Paul Emmel's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since June 11 (Ramon Laureano; QOC = Y [Balk NC]).

Wrap: San Diego Padres vs. Washington Nationals, 8/13/22 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 126 - Jerry Meals (3; Chris Woodward)

HP Umpire Jerry Meals ejected Rangers manager Chris Woodward (strike one call; QOCN) in the bottom of the 4th inning of the #Mariners-#Rangers game. With none out and none on, Rangers batter Adolis Garcia took a first-pitch slider from Mariners pitcher George Kirby for a called first strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located off the outer edge of home plate and at the height of the waist (px 1.16, pz 2.84), the call was incorrect.* At the time of the ejection, the Mariners were leading, 3-1. The Mariners ultimately won the contest, 6-2.

This is Jerry Meals (41)'s 3rd ejection of 2022.

Jerry Meals now has 2 points in the UEFL Standings (4 Prev + 2 MLB - 4 Incorrect Call = 2).

Crew Chief Jerry Meals now has 3 points in Crew Division (3 Previous + 0 Incorrect Call = 3).

*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.

This pitch was located 2.95 horizontal inches from being deemed correct.

This is the 126th ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is the 69th manager ejection of 2022.

This is Texas' 2nd ejection of 2022, 5th in the AL West (LAA 9; SEA 7; HOU 6; OAK 4; TEX 2).

This is Chris Woodward's 1st ejection since July 25, 2021 (Tim Timmons; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Jerry Meals' 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since August 4 (Craig Counsell; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Seattle Mariners vs Texas Rangers, 8/12/22 | Video as follows:

Ask UEFL - Little League Game-Ending Fair/Foul Decision

The Little League World Series' Northwest Region Championship game between Oregon and Washington ended in extra innings after a confusing fair vs foul ball ground ball down the left field line, in which Replay Review upheld an on-field fair ball call despite the 3B Umpire signaling "foul"...so what happened?

Play: With one out and one on (R1) in the bottom of the 7th inning (an extra inning for Little League's regulation 6-inning game), Washington's batter hit a bounding ball on the ground toward third base. The ball passed the third base bag, untouched, and the 3B Umpire signaled "foul"; however, the play continued and the runner from first ran to home plate, scoring the winning run.

Replay: Following review, in which the on-field call was determined to be "fair"—likely as called by the home plate umpire—the ruling stood and the winning run upheld. MLB does not allow fair/foul balls passing third base like this to be reviewed, but Little League generally qualifies more plays for review. The rule regarding conflicting umpire signals states that umpires may elect to adopt either decision, based on which one the umpire-in-chief (or crew chief, if one is designated) is correct ("If different decisions should be made on one play by different umpires..the umpire-in-chief shall determine which decision shall prevail, based on which umpire was in best position and which decision was most likely correct. Play shall proceed as if only the final decision had been made" [OBR 8.04(c)]). Because of that last sentence, U3's foul ball mechanic may be deemed inadvertent and thus ignored, despite the defense possibly stopping due to the signal.

Sidebar: The concept of "once rung, one cannot unring a bell" comes into play; in umpire philosophy, the general idea is that once a dead ball or "Time" signal is given, reversing such a signal is very difficult due to the premature killing of the play. That said, Replay Review's aim is to get the call right, even if that means reversing what in past eras may have been deemed irreversible.

Analysis: In Little League, volunteer umpires during regular season gameplay usually work in crews of one (solo games), two, or maybe three. Four-person during regional playoffs and six-person during the Little League World Series in Williamsport are not crews generally, if ever, seen at local ballparks.

As such, we review that in all configurations except for four- and six-person umpiring crews (this includes a three-person crew's alignment for a runner on first base only), the home plate umpire retains calling responsibility for all fair/foul decisions along the left field foul line, including batted balls bounding past third base.

In crews of four and six, naturally, the 3B Umpire has responsibility for all batted balls bounding past the front edge of third base, but in the one-two-three crew alignment, there is no umpire physically standing along the left field foul line, leaving that call to the plate umpire. That's likely why the plate umpire made a call.

Teachable: The key, then, is to review mechanics and responsibilities during pre-game preparation, especially when working in a crew of more umpires than is usual. That way when quick-developing close plays like this occur, the mechanics refresh will hopefully allow for proper coverage and lessen the likelihood of conflicting calls.

Video as follows:

Rules Review - Passing a Base Requires Two Feet

The issue of passing a base took center stage when Replay Review confirmed 2B Umpire Doug Eddings' denial (safe call) of Philadelphia's appeal that alleged Marlins baserunner R1 Charles Leblanc passed and failed to retouch second base on a fly ball to right fielder Nick Castellanos and so that'll make it a 4-0 ballgame.

With none out and one on (R1 Leblanc), Marlins batter Bryan De La Cruz hit a fly ball to Castellanos in right field; with Leblanc running on the pitch, he arrived at second base before turning around to go back to first base to tag up. After the play, the Phillies appealed that Leblanc failed to properly retouch second base on his way back to first base, and that's where our past/prior rules discussion comes in.

In 2017, we discussed this same issue when Giants runner Brandon Belt was called out for running past second base on a similar fly-ball-to-the-outfield play, and, to summarize, the key concept is whether or not both of the runner's feet have passed the base in question before said runner has begun their retreat to a previous base.

Related Post: Past or Prior - Deciding When a Runner Has Passed a Base (7/1/17).

The MLB Umpire Manual holds the key to unlocking Official Baseball Rule 5.06(b)(1) (the retouch rule) and states: "A runner is considered to have passed a base if they have both feet on the ground beyond the back edge of the base or beyond the edge of the base in the direction to which they are advancing."

The accompanying diagram illustrates MLBUM's interpretation of what is considered past vs prior. At third base, the orange delineation line would be rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise to illustrate the same concept.

Video as follows:

Ask UEFL - Whoa Nelly! Mets' Nimmo Out After Missed Tag

Despite Replay Review overturning 2B Umpire Jeff Nelson's erroneous out call on a missed tag by Braves infielder Ehire Adrianza, Mets baserunner Brandon Nimmo nonetheless was declared out as a result of shortstop Dansby Swanson's subsequent tag later in the sequence.

With none out and one on, R1 Nimmo ran toward second base when Mets batter Starling Marte hit a ground ball to Atlanta's Adrianza. Upon fielding the ball, Adrianza attempted to tag Nimmo between first and second base before throwing onto first baseman Matt Olson to retire the batter.

However, although Adrianza's glove made contact with Nimmo's body resulting in an out call from 2B Umpire Nelson, Replay Review overturned that portion of the play, having noticed that Adrianza's glove was empty at the time of the tag—the baseball was in his throwing hand detached from his glove.

In the end, although the call was overturned, the result of the play remained an out, with the Replay Official during Sunday's game ruling that Nimmo would nonetheless have been thrown and tagged out at second base had Nelson not called Nimmo out on Adrianza's phantom tag. This is because first baseman Olson, likely sensing that Adrianza had missed the tag, threw the ball back to shortstop Swanson, who dutifully jogged to and tagged Nimmo as he stood between first and second base.

The standard for deciding an outcome of a play in which a portion of the play has been overturned via Replay Review is to determine what would have likely occurred had the final call been made as in the initial call. In this situation, Replay judged that Nimmo would have been out on Swanson's tag based on both the Atlanta infielders' and Nimmo's actions after the original (overturned) out call had been made.

Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 124-125 - Hickox, Carapazza (NYY x2)

HP Umpire Ed Hickox ejected Yankees manager Aaron Boone (strike one call; QOCN) and 3B Umpire Vic Carapazza ejected Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake (strike three call; QOCN) in the top of the 5th inning of the #Yankees-#Cardinals game. With two out and two on (R2, R3), Yankees batter Matt Carpenter took a 1-0 curveball from Cardinals pitcher Chris Stratton for a called first strike, resulting in Boone's ejection. Replays indicate the pitch was located off the outer edge of home plate and waist-high (px -1.22, pz 2.84), the call was incorrect. Carpenter then took a 2-2 fastball from Stratton for a called third strike, resulting in Blake's ejection. Replays indicate the pitch was located off the outer edge of home plate and thigh-high (px -0.99, pz 2.16), the call was incorrect. At the time of the ejections, the game was tied, 6-6. The Cardinals ultimately won the contest, 12-9.

This is Ed Hickox (15)'s 1st ejection of 2022.

This is Vic Carapazza (19)'s 3rd ejection of 2022.

Ed Hickox now has -2 points in the UEFL Standings (0 Previous + 2 MLB - 4 Incorrect Call = -2).

Vic Carapazza now has 0 points in the UEFL Standings (0 Prev + 2 MLB - 2 Incorrect-Crewmate = 0).
Crew Chief Jerry Meals now has 0 points in Crew Division (0 Previous + 0 Incorrect Call = 0).

*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.

The 1-0 pitch was located 3.67 horizontal inches from being deemed correct.

The 2-2 pitch was located 0.91 horizontal inches from being deemed correct.

These are the 124th ejection reports of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is the 68th manager ejection of 2022.

This is New York's 9/10th ejection of 2022, 1st in the AL East (NYY 10; TOR 8; BAL, BOS 4; TB 3).

This is Aaron Boone's 6th ejection of 2022, 1st since July 15 (DJ Reyburn; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Matt Blake's 2nd ejection of 2022, 1st since May 22 (Greg Gibson; QOC = N [Fair/Foul]).

This is Ed Hickox's 1st ejection since July 22, 2021 (Dave Roberts; QOC = N [Check Swing]).

This is Vic Carapazza's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since June 5 (Ryan Pressly; QOC = U [Warnings]).

Wrap: New York Yankees vs St Louis Cardinals, 8/7/22 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 123 - Alan Porter (2; Rocco Baldelli)

1B Umpire Alan Porter ejected Twins manager Rocco Baldelli (Replay Review decision that overturned HP Umpire Marty Foster's out call to safe due to a home plate collision violation; QOCN) in the top of the 10th inning of the #BlueJays-#Twins game. With one out and one on (R3), Blue Jays batter Cavan Biggio hit a 0-0 slider from Twins pitcher Caleb Thielbar on a fly ball to left fielder Tim Beckham, who threw to catcher Gary Sanchez as Blue Jays baserunner R3 Whit Merrifield arrived at home plate, ruled out by HP Umpire Foster and overturned to safe due to illegal plate blocking by Sanchez after a challenge by Blue Jays manager John Schneider. Replays do not conclusively indicate whether Twins catcher Sanchez provided Blue Jays runner Merrifield with a pathway to home plate pursuant to the terms of Rule 6.01(i)(2) prior to moving to receive the thrown ball, the decision to overturn the on-field out call to a plate blocking violation (safe) call was incorrect. At the time of the ejection, the Blue Jays were leading, 3-2. The Blue Jays ultimately won the contest, 3-2, in 10 innings.

This is Alan Porter (64)'s 2nd ejection of 2022.

Alan Porter now has 4 points in the UEFL Standings (4 Previous + 2 MLB - 2 Incorrect-Crewmate = 4).

Crew Chief Alan Porter now has 3 points in Crew Division (3 Previous + 0 Incorrect Call = 3).

Official Baseball Rule 6.01(i)(2): "Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as they are attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the umpire, the catcher without possession of the ball blocks the pathway of the runner, the umpire shall call or signal the runner safe. Not withstanding the above, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule 6.01(i)(2) if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in a legitimate attempt to field the throw (e.g., in reaction to the direction, trajectory or the hop of the incoming throw, or in reaction to a throw that originates from a pitcher or drawn-in infielder)."

This is the 123rd ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is the 67th manager ejection of 2022.

This is Minnesota's 3rd ejection of 2022, T-2nd in the AL Central (CWS 5; DET, KC, MIN 3; CLE 1).

This is Rocco Baldelli's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since June 6 (Alex Tosi; QOC = Y [Check Swing]).

This is Alan Porter's 2nd ejection of 2022, 1st since July 23 (Phil Nevin; QOC = N-c [Check Swing]).

Wrap: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Baltimore Orioles, 8/7/22 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 122 - Ron Kulpa (2; Brandon Hyde)

3B Umpire Ron Kulpa ejected Orioles manager Brandon Hyde (Replay Review decision that overturned HP Umpire Carlos Torres' out call to safe due to a home plate collision violation; QOCN) in the top of the 7th inning of the #Pirates-#Orioles game. With two out and one on (R2), Pirates batter Kevin Newman hit a 1-2 slider from Orioles pitcher Keegan Akin on the ground to shortstop Jorge Mateo, who after recovering the ball in fair territory behind third base, threw to catcher Robinson Chirinos as Pirates baserunner R2 Greg Allen arrived at home plate, ruled out by HP Umpire Torres and overturned to safe due to illegal plate blocking by Chirinos after a challenge by Pirates manager Derek Shelton. Replays indicate that catcher Chirinos failed to provide Allen with a pathway to home plate pursuant to the terms of Rule 6.01(i)(2) prior to moving to receive the thrown ball, the plate blocking violation (safe) call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Pirates were leading, 5-1. The Pirates ultimately won the contest, 8-1.

This is Ron Kulpa (46)'s 2nd ejection of 2022.

Ron Kulpa now has 9 points in the UEFL Standings (5 Prev + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 9).

Crew Chief Ron Kulpa now has 5 points in Crew Division (4 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 5).

Official Baseball Rule 6.01(i)(2): "Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as they are attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the umpire, the catcher without possession of the ball blocks the pathway of the runner, the umpire shall call or signal the runner safe."

This is the 122nd ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is the 66th manager ejection of 2022.

This is Baltimore's 4th ejection of 2022, T-3rd in the AL East (NYY, TOR 8; BAL, BOS 4; TB 3).

This is Brandon Hyde's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since July 1 (Ramon De Jesus; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Ron Kulpa's 2nd ejection of 2022, 1st since July 17 (Jesus Aguilar; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Baltimore Orioles, 8/7/22 | Video as follows: