The New York Yankees entered Tuesday night trailing the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 in the ALDS, and a must-win Game 3 didn’t get off to a great start for the Yankees. And the frustration boiled over for Yankees manager Aaron Boone in the bottom of the third inning.
New York trailed Toronto 6-1 in the bottom of the third when the Yankees’ Trent Grisham had a 2-2 count and took a ball. Grisham pointed to the New York dugout, thinking the glove of Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk interfered with his bat. Catcher’s interference would award the batter first base.
So, Boone challenged the call.
After replay review, umpire Dan Bellino announced that there was no catcher’s interference, and the count remained 3-2. And it was the Yankees’ second failed challenge of the game, leaving them with no remaining challenges.
Boone, along with FS1 play-by-play announcer Joe Davis, couldn’t believe it.
A perplexed Davis responded, “What?”
“The ball’s in the glove,” FS1 color commentator John Smoltz said.
“Yeah, but the ball’s in the glove because he stuck the glove in front of the bat,” Davis replied.
The FS1 cameras showed Boone mouthing to an umpire, “What the f*** are we doing?”
“I’m wondering the same thing, Aaron,” Davis said.
“And Aaron is sharing his frustration with this umpiring crew,” Davis added. “The call comes from the replay center. So, he’s killing the messenger here. But I would too.”
Grisham went on to double in the plate appearance and would come around to score on an Aaron Judge double, so the ruling actually worked out better in the end for the Yankees.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.