Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Jeffrey Maier's Spirit Reborn

Robinson Cano's home run yesterday where fans made contact with outfielder Nelson Cruz as he attempted to catch the ball brought a flashback to the Yankees' 1996 playoff series against the Baltimore Orioles. Then, Derek Jeter hit a fly ball that Tony Tarasco was prepared to catch, only for Yankee fan Jeffrey Maier to reach out and grab it first. It was ruled a HR and the Orioles never recovered. Now the Cano home run was not as clear cut as Jeter's in regards to whether it was interference. While I think Cruz was interfered with--that contact was made before he crossed the barrier and into the seats--it was a fine line. What I don't understand is why the umpires did not review it. I thought the point was to make sure all close home run calls are double checked to make sure they are correct? And if something in the rules stopped the umpires from looking at the replay, then that should be changed. With replay set up and all ready to go for home run calls, there is no reason for umpires or baseball to only go halfway.

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