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Late in the Cubs 3-2 win over the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series, Cubs manager Joe Maddon was ejected. The call ended up being inconsequential, but we have an umpire's admission of a mistake and a historic ejection, so let's sort everything out. 

The Call

With the Cubs leading 3-2 in the top of the eighth inning and one out, the tying run was on first base with Curtis Granderson at the plate for the Dodgers. With two strikes, Granderson appeared to swing through strike three while it hit the dirt before reaching the glove of Cubs catcher Willson Contreras. With a runner on first and less than two outs, Granderson can't try and run to first, so he was called out. 

Granderson claimed he fouled the pitch off, bringing Dodgers manager Dave Roberts out to get Granderson's back. Home plate umpire Jim Wolf initially held firm against the Dodgers, saying it wasn't a foul ball. 

After a brief break, Wolf consulted with the rest of the umpires -- no replay was used because this isn't a reviewable play -- and they ended up ruling it a foul ball. 

It wasn't. It was pretty clear Granderson missed the pitch. Here's a good slow-motion look along with Maddon flipping his top and getting ejected. 

It's hard to catch a reliable still photo, but for those who don't want to watch the video, I gave it a shot:

not-a-foul-ball.jpg

As can be seen on the highlight above, in baseball's version of "ball don't lie," Granderson would strike out anyway. Ultimately, the call didn't matter regarding the outcome of the game. 

Maddon makes history

Remember, Maddon was run in Game 1 of the series. This means that through just five games of the best-of-seven NLCS, Maddon has already been ejected twice. This is the first time in MLB history a manager has been tossed twice in the same postseason series. 

Here's a list of ejections through 2014: 

From 2014 to the present, we know that no manager has pulled this off aside from Maddon. Dubious history or something to be proud of? 

Regardless, it's history. 

The accountability

After the game, Wolf admitted the overturn was a mistake, saying the call was "dead wrong" on the umpires' end. 

"I talked myself into the whole thing," Wolf said. 

That's a problem, isn't it? Why is he trying to talk himself into calls after an argument instead of just sticking to his initial instinct? 

Regardless, at least he came clean and was accountable. Adults own their mistakes without making excuses. He owned this one and didn't try to blame any other umpires in that conference -- and we don't know what was said in that huddle. 

Once the call is made, accountability is all we can ask of the game officials. 

Maddon's postgame comments

Maddon noted that the umpires decided they heard two distinct sounds (like maybe the dirt and then contact with Contreras? -- though they were surely saying the bat and then the dirt, which is incorrect). 

"That can't happen, he said. "The process was horrible."

Then, Maddon had a few gems. 

First off, this would've been hilarious had he actually done it (and no, he wouldn't have but it's still funny):

To have that changed and if Granderson hits the next pitch out, I might come running out of the clubhouse in my jockstrap.  

Maddon is equal opportunity: 

The explanation was eventually -- eventually it turned into hearing two sounds. Not one of them saw a foul tip or heard -- thought it was a foul tip. It was based on two sounds, which I totally cannot agree with that process whatsoever. When you have 40-some thousand people, it's late in the game. The other sound could have come from some lady screaming in the first row. I have no idea. I can't buy that process. Could have been a guy too. I don't want to bang on a lady.  

He closed with a "Talladega Nights" reference: 

I mean, I was upset. I mean, listen, this is an elimination game, man. This isn't just another one. This isn't June 23rd, this is an elimination game. Again, with all due respect to the umpires, and as Ricky Bobby once said: Once you've said "with all due respect," you can say whatever you want.

With all due respect, under those circumstances, that can't happen. It can't happen. If Granderson hits the next pitch out of the ballpark, that can't happen. The process was not good. That's my argument. The process was a bad process. That's my argument.

If I don't do that, what do my players think if I don't stand up for our guys like that? What do they think in that moment? That's part of it.

The other part is you want to win the darn game, man. You want to win the game. And if that takes the game away from you right there, that would be really awful.

All's well that ends well for Maddon and the Cubs in Game 4. 

Now they head to Game 5 again on the brink of elimination.