Fansided

Carlos Mendoza calls 'bull' on controversial game-ending call in Mets-Cubs

And he's not wrong.

By Alicia de Artola

Apr 23, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza argues a call
Apr 23, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza argues a call / Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
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The Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets on Wednesday when Pete Alonso was thrown out at the plate while trying to score what would have been the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth. That's the simplest way to describe the ending of that game, but it doesn't do it much justice.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was spitting mad after the replay official ruled that 1) There was no blocking at the plate and 2) Alonso wasn't confirmed to have touched home. And a hot mic picked it up.

"The rule says you cannot stand at home plate without the ball," Mendoza argued with the umpires. "That's bulls*** man, that's bulls***."

So let's look at the play.

It's plain to see umpires got the Mets-Cubs ending wrong

There are two elements to this controversial ending. The question of whether Miguel Amaya illegally blocked Alonso's path to the plate because he had his foot on the plate without the ball.

Mendoza said after the game that in the spring MLB sent a memo to teams reaffirming that catchers can't have their foot on the plate without the baseball.

But the replay official determined that "the catcher's initial setup was legal and he moved into the lane in reaction to the trajectory of the incoming throw."

The problem with that interpretation of the play is that Amaya was initially set up with his foot on the plate. Go back and watch the video again. At the nine-second mark, Mendoza comes into frame for the first time. He's standing with his foot on the plate before the throw from third base is in the air.

Of course, there's another element to all this: Alonso pretty clearly beat the throw anyways.

Based on timing, it sure looks like he reached home before Amaya could make the tag. The problem is the best angle to confirm his hand was or wasn't literally on the plate was obscured by the home plate umpire (and Amaya's foot, funnily enough).

So, the replay official may have an explanation for why they ruled it the way they did. That doesn't make it the right call.

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