BRAVE ‘THREW’ WORLD: Unruly Braves fans launch bottles onto the field and manager Fredi Gonzalez has it out (inset) with umpire Sam Holbrook, who bizarrely called infield fly on a shallow pop to left, killing an eighth-inning rally en route to a 6-3 loss to the Cardinals in the NL wild-card playoff yesterday. (Getty Images; EPA (inset))
ATLANTA — The image of left-field umpire Sam Holbrook and third-base umpire Jeff Kellogg raising their fists in the air to signify an out call on a pop to short left via the infield fly rule last night won’t be as indelibly etched in the country’s consciousness as the picture of those two NFL replacement refs signaling different calls in Seattle a couple of weeks ago, but it will sure burn in the Braves’ memory at least throughout the winter.
That bizarre eighth-inning call on Andrelton Simmons’ popup with two on and one out that ultimately fell between incoming left fielder Matt Holliday and backtracking shortstop Pete Kozma had a huge impact on the Braves’ 6-3 defeat to the Cardinals in the first one-and-done wild-card knockout game in major league history.
Thus, the nightmare scenario of a one-and-done game being influenced, if not decided, by such a call came to fruition the first time out, though MLB executive VP Joe Torre saw the hullaballoo as nothing unique as the Cardinals advanced to the Division Series against the Nationals that commences in St. Louis tomorrow.
“Baseball has been controversial for a long time,” said Torre, who immediately after the game ruled against the Braves’ protest lodged by manager Fredi Gonzalez.
The call, which came with the Braves down by three runs, was made initially by Holbrook and then seconded by Kellogg even as Kozma called for the ball then veered out of the way amid the din created by a roaring crowd of 52,631.
The infield fly rule 2.00 declares the call should be made when a fly ball can be caught by a fielder with “ordinary effort.” Fifty feet back on the outfield grass with the crowd roaring doesn’t seem consistent with that aspect of the rule.
That, indeed, was the basis of the protest Gonzalez filed immediately after the play that Torre rejected because, the VP said, “It’s an umpire’s judgment.”
“I was arguing or protesting that it was not an ordinary effort,” said Gonzalez, whose team made three errors that accounted for four unearned runs.
“I thought the shortstop had to go way out there to make a play on that fly ball and that you’ve got to take into account the 50,000 people yelling, and I thought there was some miscommunication between Holliday and Kozma.”
Holbrook was adamant he had made the proper call when he addressed the press following the game accompanied by Torre, Kellogg and umpire supervisor Charlie Reliford.
“I saw the shortstop go back and get underneath the ball where he would have had ordinary effort and would have caught the baseball and that’s why I called the infield fly,” said Holbrook, who has 11 1/2 years of big league experience.
The call created outrage in the stands, with angry fans throwing debris including bottles and cans onto the field. That created a 19-minute delay during which all players left the field as the grounds crew attended to cleanup work.
Chipper Jones, whose magnificent Braves career ended with the defeat in which he made a critical early throwing error and went 1-for-5, was in the dugout during the demonstration.
“I was up under the awning — Mama didn’t raise no fool,” Jones said. “But [the reaction] was disappointing. You never want to see something get violent like that.”
Dan Uggla advanced to third and David Ross went to second when the ball fell. After the delay, pinch-hitter Brian McCann walked to load the bases with the potential tying run, but Jason Motte struck out Michael Bourn to end the inning.
The Braves would get the tying run to the plate with two out in the ninth after Jones temporarily extended the game, the season and his career with an infield hit before Freddie Freeman doubled, but Uggla grounded to second to end a knockout game in which an umpire’s bizarre call became a punch line.