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MLB denies Phillies' protest

In a statement, Major League Baseball announced it has denied the Phillies' protest of Sunday's game against the Florida Marlins.

35 comments

MLB denies Phillies' protest

POSTED: Wednesday, September 7, 2011, 4:58 PM

Paul Hagen and Daily News staff

MLB denied the Phillies' protest of umpire Joe West's use of replay. (Hector Gabino/AP Photo, El Nuevo Herald)

In a statement, Major League Baseball announced it has denied the Phillies' protest of Sunday's game against the Florida Marlins.

"Executive Vice President for Baseball Operations Joe Torre has denied the formal protest filed by the Philadelphia Phillies regarding their Sunday, September 4th game against the Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium," the statement from MLB read.

The Phillies had argued that the umpires had improperly applied the replay rule regarding a ball hit by Hunter Pence in the sixth inning of what became a 5-4 loss in 14 innings.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. declined to comment on the ruling.

Manager Charlie Manuel said he was not surprised with the outcome.

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35 comments

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Comments (35)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:04 PM, 09/07/2011

There goes our shot at reaching the postseason....

— Fan Interference

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:08 PM, 09/07/2011

There's a shocker. When has MLB ever admitted any wrong?

— Phils_fan_in_colo

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 6:11 PM, 09/07/2011

I recall ONE incident when MLB admitted to a wrong--and they got that one wrong, as it happened.
In the "Late Great Pine Tar Bat Incident", George Brett was in obvious violation of the pine tar rule. MLB nullified the decision, however, and replayed the game from there.
Obviously, MLB should have upheld the umpire's decision and changed the rule.

— BEMiller

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 7:29 PM, 09/07/2011

But the pine tar rule is there to protect the batter. The point of the rule is to prevent the ball from becoming too difficult to see as a result of it getting dirty from pine tar. That's no reason to disallow a home run.

— redscarf

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:40 AM, 09/08/2011

As I recall the Brett pine tar incident, the rule that prohibited substances from being on bats past a certain distance specifically excluded pine tar. Thus, the umpire was clearly wrong. MLB later changed the rule.

In the current case, it's clear that the umpire was wrong and the protest should have been upheld. The arrogance of all the major sports leagues when it comes to officiating is incredible.

— Doug from PA

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:08 PM, 09/07/2011

Joe West must have some compromising pictures of Torre and Selig.

— palmyra21

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:12 PM, 09/07/2011

The team would have withdrawn the protest at some point even if we won it since we won't need that game for the standings. But West was still wrong. The replay rule is very clear that you can use replay to award a HR if one wasn't awarded or to overturn a HR call. West did neither. He used it to take away the call on the field (a double) and find fan interference. His only options under the replay rule were to change the call to a HR or leave it as it was. The fact that he lied and claimed the Phils asked him to review it for a HR is very shady. Anyone watching the game saw that the Marlins players and manager were the ones raising a stink about the play....Manuel didn't even come onto the field under AFTER the play was replayed and the call was changed. Guess Charlie used mental telepathy to ask West to review the call for a HR.

— JimG

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:14 PM, 09/07/2011

So, if the fan had a Marlins jersey on, would it still be fan interference?

— Voytas

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:28 PM, 09/07/2011

Wow, there's a shock.

— PhightinPhil

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:45 PM, 09/07/2011

If Bud Selig was involved in this decision you know it had to be wrong.

— RufusG

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:46 PM, 09/07/2011

Torre has no clue. Never did, never will and Selig is too busy dining with Fox and other TV executives.

— alwaysphil1

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:49 PM, 09/07/2011

No surprise there. I wouldn't mind a denial as long as Joe West was also reprimanded. Yes there was fan interference so in the end the call was right, but West applied the rules improperly and then lied about it afterwards. If that doesn't deserve at least a reprimand (if not a fine), I think the Players' Union should consider taking action.

But Joe Torre: please don't ever claim to act impartial when it comes to the Phils. After Shane's suspension and this, you've lost any semblance of credibility you earned after 50+ years of being in baseball.

— redscarf

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 6:07 PM, 09/07/2011

Are you talking about the much over-rated Joe Torre the player, the much over-rated Joe Torre the manager, or the The Idiot Selig clone in the MLB offices?
Joe Torre has NEVER had the least credibility!

— BEMiller

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:58 PM, 09/07/2011

I for one hope that the next time it is remotely possible a fan interfered with a ball a Phillie hits that Charlie asks for a review ... then let the league explain why it isn't reviewable ... and not that it maters but the umpires blew the replay call in the Yankee-Oriol game, what were they watching ?!

— FatBoy90