With most of the focus on playoff races, another issue in Major League Baseball got overlooked last weekend: human error and the fallibility of umpires. On Saturday night, with David Ortiz at the plate, home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg ruled a pitch foul after claiming he heard a "ticking" sound as the ball passed David Ortiz's bat.
At the time, the count was 0-1 with no outs and a runner on first in the fifth inning of a scoreless game. Ortiz eventually struck out against the Yankees' CC Sabathia, but not before a discussion with Kellogg.
Ortiz's former teammate, Curt Schilling, is a notorious opponent of QuesTec, the company that makes Umpire Information Systems (or UIS), a system of cameras placed around a ballpark to record the location of pitches and provide feedback on the accuracy of umpires. But in the case of Ortiz's phantom foul, it was the alleged "ticking" sound, rather than any video footage, that clued Kellogg in. In fact, a microphone near home plate did record some kind of click, but it was unclear what caused the noise, if it wasn’t the ball hitting the bat,.
While the discussion may seem overblown, it highlights a common concern among major league players in regards to the consistency and accuracy of umpires. Third base umpire Tim Welke said he was prepared to rule against Ortiz with a strike, claiming that the slugger wasn't able to control the head of his bat, had the Yankees appealed the call. Welke did not comment on whether or not he thought the pitch was a foul ball.
While the "phantom foul" ultimately amounted to little, it's notable because of Ortiz's peaceful and quick discussion with Kellogg. Ballplayers and managers are often ejected for arguing balls and strikes, but arguing the legitimacy of a foul ball is less commonplace. Ortiz has been ejected six times since 2000, most often for arguing balls and strikes.
