Umpires blow call in Mets-Yankees game; so does Morgan


A national TV audience Sunday night saw why baseball needs instant replay. Too bad ESPN analyst Joe Morgan missed it.

In the top of the fourth inning of the Mets-Yankees game, Carlos Delgado hit a ball that struck the left-field foul pole. Third-plate umpire Mike Reilly initially called the ball fair, then changed his call at the urging of home-plate umpire Bob Davidson.

Obviously the umpires blew the call (the replay was quite clear on it), but so did Morgan. He waited five minutes before even broaching the topic of allowing the umpires to use replay, then tried to dismiss it with one rambling sentence:

“That’s one of the reasons people are calling for instant replay, but I don’t think instant replay would work in this situation because I don’t think you should do it at this point in the game because we would have every play reviewed.”

Every play? Most proponents of replay are suggesting it only for plays such as this — whether a play is or isn’t a home run. How often does that happen? Maybe once every 10 games? Certainly not “every play.”

Let’s face it, baseball lags far behind the other major sports in a lot of areas. Finding a pertinent use of replay is one of them. Too bad Morgan — even if he’s against it — missed the opportunity for a healthy debate.

Categories: TV
Pete Dougherty

4 Responses

  1. Michael Wickham says:

    Even more annoying was the pointless and ignorant banter that followed, discussing how the foul pole was in the wrong place. The two took one camera angle and used it as the basis for a theory that the pole had been misread for the stadium’s 85 year history, ignoring the fact that the pole is placed in line when you look down the line, right where it’s supposed to be! The most moronic statement of the evening was when Morgan called Miller “an environmentalist” after he used the “curavture of the earth” as a possible reason for the optical illusion. I’m sure one of them may have been joking, but the babble was so inane at that point that it’s entirely possible one, or both, was serious.

  2. Pete Dougherty, Staff writer says:

    Just another example of how an announcing tandem that was so brilliant when formed in the early ’90s has deteriorated, particularly the analyst. Morgan gets worse every year. Miller is still better on radio.

  3. Matt says:

    I get dizzy from listening to Joe Morgan verbally go around in circles.

    How about the great natural sound, though, on that ball smacking the fair pole?! I thought someone rang my doorbell. Kudos to the 3rd base umpire for getting it right.

  4. John says:

    Just another example of keeping people in place too long. Like Chris Berman, Joe Morgan appears “ouT of the loop.” And, why not get two guys who work for ESPN full-time. Miller calls SF Giants games, then takes a day off and jets in for the Sunday Night game. Last I knew, Morgan worked some Giants game, too.

    Dave O’Brien did this last year, too. He worked the radio for the red Sox, but did baseball for ESPN and MLS games on Thursdays right through the MLS playoffs. I know these guys are “announcing whores,” and refuse to turn down any assignment, but enough is enough. You can’t do everything. Miller should worl for ESPN or the Giants, not both.