MLB's replay review process has earned more than its fair share of haters of late. But of all the controversial ruling we've seen this season, what happened on Sunday between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees might be the absolute worst of the bunch.
With the regular-season tiebreaker on the line between two teams fighting for AL Wild Card positioning, Boston and New York went to the bottom of the fifth locked in a scoreless pitcher's duel. Luis Garcia Jr. led off with a single for the Yankees, when Jazz Chisholm Jr. lined one into the gap in right-center. Ceddanne Rafaela wound up with the ball in his glove after a spectacular dive, but the. umpires ruled it a trap on the field, putting two men on with none out.
The Red Sox immediately challenged, and well ... you be the judge:
Ceddanne Rafaela. You were screwed, sir. pic.twitter.com/rORu5X2KYS
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) August 30, 2026
It sure looks from that angle — and several others — that Rafaela secured the ball before it hit the ground and maintained control throughout the process. And yet, the umpiring crew inexplicably ruled that the call stood. Chisholm Jr. was safe at first, and two batters later, Paul Goldschmidt had opened the scoring with a two-run single. Two batters after that, Heliot Ramos broke things open with a three-run homer for a 5-0 lead.
Heliot Ramos connects for his first home run as a member of the #Yankees, a three-run shot, and they lead Boston 5-0. pic.twitter.com/LnMB9AI8HY
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) August 30, 2026
In an instant, the entire complexion of one of the biggest games of the year to date changed. And while it can't all be put on the replay review — that would have been only the second out in the inning, and Ranger Suarez did unravel — it's hard to imagine anything about that inning playing out the same if they'd gotten the call right. And what's worse? This is hardly the first time the Yankees have benefitted from the folks in New York.
Claims of Yankees replay review bias will only get louder after bogus Ceddanne Rafaela call
Drawing a line between the replay review process being handled at MLB headquarters in Manhattan and the Yankees playing their home games just a few miles north in the Bronx is, of course, the stuff of lazy conspiracy-mongering. And yet, you open yourself up to lazy conspiracy-mongering when you can't get your own processes right — and when that failure benefits the hometown team a seemingly inordinate amount of the time.
Just a few weeks ago, the Yankees had a critical game in Baltimore swing their way in large part because a potential go-ahead homer from Pete Alonso was ruled foul despite sure seeming fair upon replay. If replay review can't get clear yes/no rulings right with all the video evidence we have at our disposal in 2026, then what exactly are we doing? How is the burden of proof for overturning a call on the field high enough that the Rafaela catch — or the Alonso homer — can't clear it?
Is MLB intentionally putting its thumb on the scale for the Yankees? No; for starters, such a coordinated conspiracy is beyond Rob Manfred's capacity to pull off. But you can't complain about appearances when you've put such a broken system into place. And if it decides playoff positioning, those calls will only grow louder.
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