Pete Alonso grounded out in a close call at first during a Mets game against the Marlins, and the umpire initially ruled him out. Alonso walked off, then paused in disbelief and asked manager Buck Showalter for clarification. On replay, it looked like the Marlins’ first baseman had his foot off the bag when the throw came in. The image lit up social media, showing the foot clearly off the base, leading many to expect the call would be overturned.
However, upon review, the call on the field “stood.” It wasn’t confirmed, just not overturned. The explanation comes down to MLB’s rule on when a catch is made. For replay purposes, a catch counts the moment the ball enters the glove, not when it settles in or hits the back of the mitt. So the crucial question becomes whether the fielder’s foot was still on the base at the exact moment the ball first entered the glove. From the available angles, that moment is hard to judge. In some frames, the foot appears on the base. In others, it’s off. There was no clear evidence to overturn the initial out call.
The end result frustrated fans and raised confusion on how replay standards are applied. Despite what looked obvious in one image, the ruling wasn’t about what looked best in slow-mo stills. It came down to a technical interpretation of timing and an inability to find clear, indisputable evidence to reverse the original decision.