Davey Martinez prints photo of bad call, a breakdown
What Happened
In a crucial late-inning moment, the Washington Nationals are facing the Houston Astros in a close game. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Nationals manager Davey Martinez approaches the umpire to discuss a controversial call. The Nationals have runners on the corners and are trying to cut down the potential game-winning run at the plate. The Astros batter hits a slow ground ball, and the Nationals infielders converge on the play. As the throw comes home, the ball appears to hit the runner in the head, but the umpire does not call interference. The Astros score the run, and the game is now tied. Martinez is incensed by the non-call, arguing that the runner was not running within the designated lane as required by the rules. He insists the umpire review the play, but is told that it cannot be reviewed. Martinez continues to plead his case, pointing out that the runner's foot was in the grass, not the designated lane. The umpire maintains that he saw the runner running down the line, and the Nationals ultimately lose the game on the controversial play. Nationals manager Davey Martinez has been on the other side of similar plays in the past, where the runner has been called out for interference. He expresses his frustration with the rule, stating that it is "tricky" for the umpire to properly evaluate the runner's positioning while also watching the play at the plate. Martinez argues that the rule needs to be fixed, as it forces the defense to make a "dumb strategy" by throwing directly at the runner. The Nationals' loss is particularly tough, as they had executed the play perfectly to get the out at home, only to have the game-winning run score due to the non-call on the interference. Martinez is clearly exasperated, saying that the umpire "can't make the right call" and that the Nationals "lost the game" because of it. The veteran manager's outburst underscores the high stakes and emotions involved in this close and hard-fought game between the two playoff contenders.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentwe lost the game and he had nothing to
say about it because he can't make the
right call brutal brutal brutal wow look
at this the infield is in bases are
loaded come on come on come on come on
five infielders two outfielders getting
in position trying to cut the runner off
at home he says this isn't fun I can't
wear my hat like that one out strike 100
miles per hour right down the middle
slider away one and one fastball again
99 100 100 again one and two count 99
Jam shot they come home to get the first
out they go to first to get the second
out but it hits the runner in the head
they don't call interference the Astros
score they win the game now
very similar scene we've seen this
before here's the play the rule is I
don't like the rule
but the rule is that
the batter has to run in this line which
is really hard to do because naturally
every single Runner runs down this way
so he needs to get his body into this
line into this lane and then at the end
he can move out to hit the bag but he
never establishes that he's in the lane
so per the rule
if the ball hits him it's interference
The Catcher in the first baseman have to
set up far away and throw it away but
their best strategy is to throw it right
at the runner which is why I don't like
the rule because it's kind of making you
do a dumb strategy because if the ball
hits them it's going to be interference
because he's never
in the runner's Lane and he never
established him to himself there
they do not call it now usually they
always call this and Davey Martinez has
been on the opposite end of a lot of
these plays where they call it and he
gets upset finally he's going to benefit
from it
and he's not going to get the call now
you can say the foot would have reached
before he caught it anyway so it doesn't
matter but I'm not sure because he
hasn't touched yet and it hits his
helmet right there and he hasn't touched
so I don't think that's the case and
yeah in the World Series same stadium
Trey Turner got called out on this
because he ran down the line and again I
don't agree with this rule because he's
a Le he's a righty and it's just not
natural to get over so he just runs as
straight as he possibly can but because
the ball hits him he was ruled out so
Davey Martinez has seen this a lot I've
been like five breakdowns on it he knows
the rule he's finally accepted it and
he's like hey it's gonna help me this
way he says he's in the grass
he was in the grass and the umpire's
saying no I don't think so and he's like
what are you talking about he says come
here what do you want to do and he says
well I want you guys to go look at it
and the Umpire says you cannot Replay
that he says yeah but you guys got it
wrong he said I said you can't replay it
but yeah but you guys got it wrong and
this something says I had I had him
going down the line he wasn't there ah
come on he was on the grass on the grass
and the arms were like well that's what
we had blah blah blah blah and he says
so we lose the game okay great we lose
the game on this play they get the out
at home they get exactly what they
wanted and then that umpire is looking
down to make sure the catcher
his foot is on the plate it's the home
umpire's call but it's tricky because he
also has to call this place so he can't
be looking up and down at the same time
he picks his head up I don't know like
he follows the catcher's arm so he's
still looking at the catcher right there
he picks his head up there
and he doesn't know if he's in the lane
he's just not we're looking the whole
time I don't know just be able to review
rules if you got him I don't know why
not infield in did work though look they
get the out at home and they're about to
get the other one I'm over this play
seriously they need to fix the rule this
is what the umpires see that he's
running down the line I'm tired of it
tired of it fix it we lost the game and
he had nothing to say about it because
he can't make the right call brutal
brutal
what was his explanation to you as you
went out there he said he saw him
running down the line Davey's Fed Up
This breakdown was brought to you by
talking baseball the number one baseball
podcast on YouTube and all the podcast
apps three episodes a week recapping all
the action check it out