SS barely in the same zip code as 2B in Tigers-Red Sox game.

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by AremRed

You guys are talking about two different plays.

Sorry; that's what I get for staying on topic.

{Edited to add} But my point is still relevant. In the Cards/Dodgers play, there was no boot. The throw was on target, got there well before the runner, Molina was in position to make the play, and the runner crashed into him while he held the ball. So the out call is justifiable, even if technically a tag never happened. I can fully understand why Mattingly wouldn't challenge it.

Now, if Molina had bobbled the ball and then secured it just a split second before the collision, or if the throw was off-line and didn't afford Molina the opportunity to turn toward the runner, I would expect a challenge in that case, the same as I would have expected a challenge in the OP play.

But this is all academic for now. We have no idea how things will change once the challenge system is put into place. It's easy for Mattingly to say what he said since he had no opportunity to throw the red flag.