Weird call sends N.L. Wild Card into circus of weasels

It wasn’t Friday the 13^th but it felt that way a couple nights ago in Atlanta, Georgia. A spooky play turned into a nightmare for the Atlanta Braves baseball team and their fans. Atlanta was trailing 6-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals in the bottom of the 8^th inning. It was a one-game National League Wild Card Playoff to determine who would face the Washington Nationals in the National League Division Series.

The Braves had a runner at 1^st base and a runner at 2^nd base with 1 out and Andrelton Simmons batting. Simmons hit a high fly ball into short left field. Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma hurried back from his spot on the infield dirt and onto the outfield grass. He raised both of his hands skyward as if to catch the ball.

However, he moved out of the way for left fielder Matt Holliday at the last second and the ball dropped between them. In theory, it was a single to left field to put runners on 1^st base, 2^nd base, and 3^rd base. It should’ve been bases loaded with 1 man out for Atlanta.

Inexplicably, the left field umpire Sam Holbrook called it an “infield fly” instead. When the infield fly rule is invoked, the batter is automatically out no matter if the fly ball is caught or not. The base runners can run to the next base but are not required to do so. Also, the umpire must determine, as stated specifically in rule 2.00, if the infielder could use “ordinary effort” to make the catch. The rule is also only applied with 1 or 2 outs in an inning and runners at 1^st and 2^nd or 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd.

There were three mistakes which stood out in Holbrook’s ruling. First, the infielder Kozma trying to catch the fly ball was at least 50 feet on the outfield grass. Second, Kozma was still moving underneath the ball when it was coming down making it more difficult to catch than if he was standing still. Third, the infield fly rule signal was given as the ball was starting to come down. Again, according to rule 2.00, the call should be made “immediately”.

The Braves should’ve had the bases loaded with 1 out. At that point, the next batter would represent the go-ahead or leading run if he reached base. Instead, they had runners only at 1^st and 2^nd with 2 out. Then, the batter could only tie the game if he hit a home run. Atlanta lost an out and a base runner in a game they were trailing by only 3 runs.

The call was terrible but the fan reaction was worse. Fans started throwing trash on the field in frustration. The trash included thousands of beer and wine bottles. Yes, your team got screwed on a bad ruling, GROW UP! It’s not the end of the world. The Braves still had 1 out left in the 8^th and the whole 9^th inning to score more runs. It was childish behavior from a bunch of adults acting like babies. The umpires had to stop the game for nearly 20 minutes to clean up the mess.

Also, there was stupidity at the end of the game. After the Cardinals won the game, they raced off the field to get away from more flying debris from the stands. Usually, teams celebrate near the pitcher’s mound after winning a playoff game or series before going into their locker room. There was no hesitation from the Cards and they couldn’t or they would get hurt. It was unbelievable that Braves fans would embarrass themselves again. Did they not learn the first time? Don’t they know people, fairly or unfairly, are going to rip Atlanta? 

It also denied a proper farewell for Braves 3rd baseman Chipper Jones. Jones played all 19 years of his career with Atlanta. With free agency, it's rare to see one likely Hall-of-Fame player stay with one team for  his career. Chipper deserved to have a moment to salute Braves fans and vice-versa. Unfortunately, he could not come out on the field after the game ended.

In addition, the umpires involved and Major League Baseball tried to pretend as if the call was correct when 99 percent of baseball fans without a rooting interest in the game disagreed. The Braves filed a protest in the bottom of the 8th inning. Within 30 minutes of the game ending, the protest was denied. If the protest was approved, the game would restart from the point of the botched call. St. Louis would still 6-3 in the 8th but Atlanta would've had a fair shot. The original game with the ball call continued instead.  

Lastly, St. Louis’ players and coaches showed poor sportsmanship in their clubhouse. The Cardinals chanted “INFIELD FLY!” in repetition. They should thank the baseball gods and also LF umpire Sam Holbrook for being a complete idiot. The first ever wildcard in MLB’s new five-team, two wild-card format was indeed wild, and out of control.