As a player, coach or spectator, you never want the outcome of a game to be left in the hands of an umpire. Too many times it will result in a letdown and ill-willed curses toward the crew chief. And while the two blown calls in Thursday night’s extra-inning affair between the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies did not determine the outcome of the game, they certainly made it more interesting.
The bases were loaded in the top of the 12th inning when Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal chopped one down the baseline to Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado. With one out already recorded, Arenado attempted an inning-ending double play by touching third base before throwing out Grandal at first. The runner at third was ruled out, but first-base umpire Ed Hickox called Grandal safe at first, which allowed Chase Headley to score the go-ahead run from third.
Even though the umps were right about one Padre being out, they were both wrong about which one it was. Video shows third-base umpire Cory Blaser incorrectly called the runner at third out because Arenado released the throw to first before touching the third-base bag. But Arenado’s throw clearly beat Grandal to first, which should’ve resulted in an RBI groundout for the Padres catcher instead of a fielder’s choice.
Ultimately, the calls offset each other, which allowed for the go-ahead run to score, but the Padres did lose position on the base paths.
Check out the umpires’ blunders in the video below.
