Yankees play Opening Day under protest over interference call
The Yankees played Opening Day under protest because of a runner's interference call they felt should have been called against Carlos Correa.
By
Mike Axisa
•
1 min read
After being rained out Monday, the Astros and Yankees opened their season at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Houston won the game 5-3 thanks to a late rally against New York's vaunted bullpen (box score).
The Astros scored the go-ahead run on an error by Dellin Betances. He picked up Carlos Correa's ground ball along the first base line, and shot-putted it over the head of Mark Teixeira at first base. Jose Altuve came around to score from second base. You can see video of the play right here.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi came out of the dugout to argue Correa interfered with the play because he was running on the grass and not inside the 45-foot line. And, well, Correa was running on the grass and not inside the 45-foot line. That's clear:
(Screen grab via @PinstripeAlley)
The umpires got together and talked it out, and they ruled Correa safe. Had they overturned the call, Correa would have been called out and Altuve would have been allowed to advance to third base, but not score.
We see plays like this all the time, and it's important to note the interference refers to the first baseman's ability to catch the throw, not the pitcher's ability to make the throw. The umpires got it right. Correa did not interfere with Teixeira's ability to make the catch.
The right thing for Betances to do would have been hit Correa in the back with the throw. I'm serious! That makes it obvious interference and the umpires would have called it as so. Instead, he airmailed the throw and the go-ahead run scored.
Joe Girardi says he was told that if Dellin Betances hit the runner, the runner would've been called out.
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) April 5, 2016
Anyway, Girardi continued to argue after the umpires upheld the call, which is why he protested the game. The league will review the play and determine whether the umpires applied the rule incorrectly.
The protest will not be successful in all likelihood. There have only been two successful protests in the last 30 years and both involved the weather. It's very rare for a protest to be successful.
If the protest is successful, the Yankees and Astros will resume the game from the point of the protest.
