Phils/Mets: Game ending interference

[Striker991]

Originally Posted by Rich Fronheiser

I am a Phillies fan. It's the only place in baseball where I openly root for anyone. Been a fan since I was 7 years old and my mother took me to see Schmidt, Bowa, Luzinski, Cash, and the rest of the 1976 Phillies.

That said, I never look at a play with Phillies-colored glasses. It's a long season and a lot of calls are made and even the best teams lose 60 games. This one, however, was a no-brainer. Like I said, the distance from the bag on initial contact was probably OK -- it's the cross-body-block from the WWE that makes it an illegal slide.

As a Phillies fan who had the distinct "pleasure" of watching Marlon Anderson in a Philles uniform, I can say it's the best play I've ever seen him make for the Phillies.

When the Eugene, Or. Emeralds were a AAA Phillies club, I got to see a bunch of them. I have (somewhere) an old Mike Schmidt bat, and baseballs signed by Schmidt, Bowa, Luzinski, Denny Doyle (whatever became of him and Cal Emery?), and many others. The trainer and clubhouse manager, Pete Cera, was a patient of the doctors my mom worked for. We became close friends and he gave me season passes; after the third inning, the ushers would let me sit in box seats that were still empty.

Thanks for bringing back some great memories!

s

[justanotherblue]

Reminds me of a play in the CWS a few years back. Unfortunately they missed it. When the coach came out and asked for help, the umpires had mic's on and were heard discussing it. No one saw the interference. R1 slid in and either pushed the pivoting F6 or grabbed his shirt to prevent a good turn, (it's been a while and I'm old and suffer from CRS), either way it prevented the double play. It is a great call, which was made a great deal easier by his head nearly being taken off by the errant throw and obvious push.

[greymule]

This is the second such call in MLB in the past week, so maybe—whether MLB instructed the umpires to start drawing the line or the umpires are doing so on their own—it's no longer "anything goes" at 2B.

My only problem with the call, as mbcrowder stated, is that there wasn't really a play at 1B. Calling the batter out when there was no chance to get him might belong in Fed, as an extra deterrent to dangerous plays, but I don't know that it should apply in MLB.

If the BR is already across 1B when the runner executes a dirty crash into F4, do we still call the BR out (as in Fed)?

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by Striker991

...Denny Doyle (whatever became of him...?)

Denny went on to play in the WS with Boston and now runs a baseball school in Florida. He and his brothers, Brian and Blake, started the school in the early-mid 80's.

http://www.doylebaseball.com