Umpire gets a chance to end the game and takes it, a breakdown
What Happened
In a spring training matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates, the game reaches a dramatic conclusion in the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs and the score still undecided, Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Will Craig steps up to the plate, trying to prolong the game. Craig fouls off a couple of pitches, working the count to 0-2. As the next pitch is delivered, Craig claims he was hit by the ball, but home plate umpire Larry Vanover firmly disagrees, saying "no, no, no" multiple times. Vanover is clearly eager to end the game and go home, not wanting the contest to drag on any further. Undeterred, Craig continues the at-bat, eventually hitting a dribbler towards third base. The throw to first base appears to beat Craig, but the first baseman doesn't have his foot on the bag, so the umpire calls Craig safe. Excited by the call, Craig starts to pick up his helmet, but the pitcher urges the first baseman to tag him, which the umpire then deems as an out, ending the game. Phillies manager Joe Girardi, known as "Shelty," comes out to argue the call, questioning the umpire's change of heart. Girardi suggests that if this were a regular-season game, the play would have been reviewed and the correct call would have been made. The umpiring crew quickly exits the field, eager to wrap up the spring training contest. The summary paints a vivid picture of the chaotic final moments, with the umpire's eagerness to end the game clashing with the players' desire to continue the competitive matchup. The detailed descriptions of the specific plays and calls, along with the direct quotes from the manager, help bring the scene to life for the reader. By including the full names of the players and teams, as well as the context of the game situation, the summary provides a comprehensive and SEO-friendly overview of the sports moment.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentphillies versus pirates spring training
battle of pennsylvania bottom nine
two outs one out away from everyone
getting to go home
is there a name for this pennsylvania
people yankees mets is called the
mayor's cup you guys got a name for this
anyway perennial pirates prospect will
craig at the dish swings and fouls back
that fastball
then he fouls back that off speed in the
zone then 02 he's going to say that this
pitch hit him and las dia says no no
no no no no no no no no no no no because
if that pitch hits you
that means this game's got to prolong
and i don't want this game to go on any
further will craig
says it hit him i don't know it didn't
really look like it hit him but maybe it
hit him but anyway will craig you got to
make the team dude hit by pitch doesn't
do anything for you get a hit
oh there you go off speed dribbler third
baseman coming in makes the play grabs
it feels it and he is
safe safe because the first baseman
doesn't have his foot in the back he
touched first base
rules of the game say safe umpire says i
saw it the whole thing
my ruling is that he is safe great call
blue
now will craig goes to pick up his
helmet says nope better not i'll stay in
foul territory
pitcher says tag him tag him tag him
so then first baseman's like okay i'll
tag him and then the um says out
game over and he says wait what what
happened um says you went over the back
after the game they said that the umpire
said he went over the bag but why'd you
call him safe
initially then seems a lot like you just
want to go home
because it's the ninth inning of spring
training shelty comes out to argue a
little bit and says like what's going on
here
what is that all about i feel like you
know shelty said if this was regular
season we would have replayed it if it
was regular season it wouldn't have
happened
because that umpire knows damn well he
just changed his mind because he just
wanted to go home early because there's
no way
he calls them safe and calls them out
less diaz and crew they just book it out
of there like yup cool that was fun
let's get out of here