Every detail counts in the MLB World Series.
There will always be mistakes by umpires because they are human beings and therefore aren’t perfect, but the ninth inning of the Texas Rangers – Arizona Diamondbacks Game 3 had a couple of potentially impactful missed calls.
Perhaps the most egregious one was home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez calling a clear ball four a strike while Gabriel Moreno was leading off the ninth inning against Rangers closer Jose Leclerc.
Moreno had earned his way to a 3-1 count, and then this happened, via MLB Metrics:
I understand umpiring is extremely difficult but it’s hard to fathom how you can miss this call.
This would be the perfect spot for the challenge system. They would review it, quickly change the call and Moreno would take first. Wouldn’t add any more than 20 seconds to the game. pic.twitter.com/GYPXwNDRFW
— MLB Metrics (@MLBMetrics) October 31, 2023
“I understand umpiring is extremely difficult but it’s hard to fathom how you can miss this call. This would be the perfect spot for the challenge system. They would review it, quickly change the call and Moreno would take first. Wouldn’t add any more than 20 seconds to the game,” MLB Metrics tweeted.
There are lots of things to analyze here.
First, MLB Metrics’ suggestion of having a quick review system that doesn’t take too long is actually not bad and would keep mistakes like these to a minimum.
Second, it’s hard to imagine a professional MLB umpire, let alone one working in the World Series, having a mistake like that.
And third, it could have changed the outcome of the inning and the game.
After Marquez said it was a strike and the count reached 3-2, Moreno grounded out.
Since it was ball four, the situation went from no one out and a runner on base (potentially with a much faster pinch-runner) to a one-out, no one on base scenario in a two-run game.
Texas ended up winning, but one can’t help but wonder what could have been if Marquez had gotten the call right.
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