Joe West appreciation thread - Despite what all the Astros fans and idiots on TBS are saying, he got the call right

I'm glad to report that 3/4ths of the people on fangraphs agree with me that West got the call right.

I guess Gary Sheffield is just an idiot. He said it was the most egregious thing he'd ever scene.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-fan-interference-call-was-probably-good/

Thank you Rojo for pointing all this out. It was clear from live TV that Mookie was interfered with. I didn't need slo motion or 5 alternate angles.

1. The ball bounces off Mookie's glove directly in the middle where it would have ended up in the webbing if it was not forced closed.

2. I wouldn't say the fans grabbed or closed his glove. It was more that Mookie as he went up ran into the fans hands it closed by pressing against their hands because they were in the field of play

3. Mookie is cleary going up more than back into the stands

4. The guys are touching the yellow paint which is in play

5. At Fenway fans down on Pesky Pole know to move out of the way because they understand the rules and the sport

6. As others have noted previously don't sit fans directly on the wall like that or build the wall high enough where the fans can't get involved with a player

7. Mookie knew immediately he was interfered with and he would have caught the ball

8. Series is over in my Unbiased opinion

Maybe he forgets his former team being involved in THE most egregious thing anyone has ever seen in baseball. Jeffrey Maierhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVNlvnsQ828

rojo wrote:

I guess Gary Sheffield is just an idiot. He said it was the most egregious thing he'd ever scene.

/

Precious Roy wrote:

This was the baseball equivalent of a flop in soccer. Mookie squeezes his glove closed with his thumb to try to make it look like fan interference. Just watch his glove close. It does not close completely from the pinky finger side. He squeezes the glove to shut it when he reaches into the stands. He does that to sell the fan interference call. When the fans come into contact with Mookie, they pull their arms back. They are not pushing him. Mookie is a strong guy and can push his way through fans to make a catch.

PR are you trolling or do you really believe this narrative and, if so, what was your state of mind at the time of concoction? I guess I should have first asked if you are, by any chance, an Astros fan.

+1

I saw one Astros fan respond to a Sox writer on twitter with: "such a salty comment from a fan whose team who hadn't been in the playoffs since like '13....LMFAOOO" Astro's fans are very very very stupid. They are to dumb to troll anyone on purpose.

Jefe in the CO wrote:

Precious Roy wrote:

This was the baseball equivalent of a flop in soccer. Mookie squeezes his glove closed with his thumb to try to make it look like fan interference. Just watch his glove close. It does not close completely from the pinky finger side. He squeezes the glove to shut it when he reaches into the stands. He does that to sell the fan interference call. When the fans come into contact with Mookie, they pull their arms back. They are not pushing him. Mookie is a strong guy and can push his way through fans to make a catch.

PR are you trolling or do you really believe this narrative and, if so, what was your state of mind at the time of concoction? I guess I should have first asked if you are, by any chance, an Astros fan.

First of all, talking about the position of two fans who did not touch the ball or the player is moot.

I saw it live and liked that it was called an out originally. The fan interference clearly prevented the fielder from catching the ball.

What I've learned since is that there is a plane from the wall upwards that defines fan interference as a rule.

I actually think the fielder's glove crossed that plane before the fan hit his glove. That would mean no official interference. No out.

As it played out initially, it was a double.

The ball hits the glove and falls into the field. The runner on base scored and the batter made it to second.

You can absolutely reach over the wall and catch the ball for an out.

What happens if you reach over the wall, the ball hits your glove and falls back into the park?

I always thought that was in play.

It seems like that instance is a home run. If that's the case, that is the only way this should be a home run.

I wished they just called it a double as it played out.

All of this brings me to a point that always bothered me.

Why do they even design ballparks that give this opportunity?

Not all ball parks do. Just some.

And outfield dimensions of each ballpark is different. There is no set distance or fence height for a home run.

The mathematician in me hates that.

Baseball just likes to be quirky. So they deserve controversies like this.

The MLB is unwatchable. What other professional sport has one team with a payroll that is 3.3 times that of the lowest paid team? They should really be honest and take the top 10 markets and call them the major league and then take all the other teams and put them into a AAAA minor league. It would really eliminate the façade that these small market teams are on an equal playing field with the big market teams. We are probably looking at a Red Sox v. Dodgers world series, the #1 and #3 highest payrolls in the MLB. That is why the NFL is more popular and has more universal appeal.

rojo wrote:

SDSU Aztec wrote:

I thought that it was past the wall and should have been ruled a home run. My problem with the call, though, was that it came down to Joe West's judgement, which was from a distance and not based on any video analysis. If he had initially called it a home run it would have stayed a home run after review. Unlike the Kemp play, this call had an effect on the game outcome.

So what's your solution? You are made that it wasn't based on video analysis. How would you suggest they make calls live? I mean there is no other option.

But guess what, I've provided the video analysis. The video analysis shows that the fan touched Betts glove before he reached the wall.

The solution is call it as no play; at worst a strike. Not an out.

Loved the series, have to go with the under-appreciated umps here...

Joe West is a role model! I don't know what would I do without his model in my life. Right now I am a successful runner and a personal trainer in my hometown Las Vegas, and yesterday I manager to take my niece to one of the https://best-vegas.com/magic-shows/ shows and I feel so proud of my achievements