The plate umpire in last night’s Cubs and Dodgers game admitted he made the wrong call, and Joe Maddon wasn’t happy of course.
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but an umpire or a referee admitted they made the wrong call after the game was already over with. The Dodgers and Cubs played in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series last night, and there were of course some controversial calls made. Perhaps none were bigger than the call made at the top of the eight inning, which was eventually argued by Cubs manager Joe Maddon, leading to his ejection.
Curtis Granderson of the Dodgers clearly swung and missed on a pitch that hit the dirt, and should have been called out since that would’ve been the third-strike of his plate appearance. The plate umpire, Joe Wolf, initially made the right call by signaling Granderson struck out. He then heard the plea of Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts, and met with the other umpires of the game ruling in favor of the Dodgers.
Maddon was furious and argued vigorously with the umpires, as that type of play could have seriously altered a game the Cubs needed to win to stay afloat in the pos season. Maddon was ejected, Granderson ended up striking out anyway, and the Cubs were able to hold on to force another game in the series.
Joe Wolf admitted he was “dead wrong” after the game, but Maddon didn’t feel any better about the situation. Maddon tried to avoid bashing the umpires of the game, but did say that the “process was wrong” in that situation. The two teams will square off tonight at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and the Dodgers can clinch their spot in the World Series with a win.