MLB umpires are supposed to be the rulebook experts on the field. This makes it awkward when one of them clearly gets something wrong.
The New York Mets lost their second and final challenge of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday after a fateful interaction between third baseman Brett Baty and home plate umpire Junior Valentine.
With an 0-1 count and two outs in the sixth inning, Tigers starting pitcher Framber Valdez threw a low sinker for strike 2. Baty didn’t like the call and appeared to say as much to Valentine, who then announced Baty was challenging the ball-strike call. There was just one problem: Baty did not challenge the call.
Baty did reach toward his helmet as if to signal a challenge, but his hand never reached his head. Valentine still decided that constituted a challenge, leading to protests from Baty and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.
The unwanted challenge was unsuccessful, leaving Baty in an 0-2 count. He struck out two pitches later to end the inning. The Mets ended up winning 3-2 in 10 innings.
For anyone who needs a refresher on how challenges work, here’s Yahoo Sports’ Jake Mintz earlier this week:
Here’s how MLB worded the rule during a spring training presentation to media. Under a section labeled “requirements for a challenge to be accepted” the guideline states that “batter, pitcher or catcher must tap their hat / helmet to challenge” and that “players are encouraged to simultaneously verbalize the request to challenge.”
There’s no language about challenging by reaching for your helmet.
The introduction of the ABS challenge was bound to come with some growing pains, and the mechanics of issuing a challenge have been one of them, as Mintz broke down. Perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise, as batters regularly reach to adjust their helmet after pitches and the system requires prompt action from both the challenger and umpire.
