[Highlight] Pete Crow-Armstrong appears to make Eduardo Rodriguez balk home the run from 3rd, but umpires deem otherwise after coming together. The play is not reviewable. Arizona currently leads by 1 run.
One of the all time bad missed calls. No idea how 4 umps don’t see a pitcher step off the back of the rubber in the middle of his wind up.
I agree but have you considered fuck the cubs?
New York’s motto (not biased)
It would be a shame if it happened to the White Sox.
we’ve heard from you all, now let the gentleman speak.
You know what, that’s a really good consideration.
Hmm ill allow it
This is a valid and accepted argument.
Nah, only those pillars of baseball fan etiquette on the south side, the eternal lil bros to all thing Cubs, the White SuxMFD fans
Swing and a miss
Careful, you’ll invite some Tim Anderson comps with that language.
like watching Bartolo Colon jog with his bat 55 feet and then peal off towards his dugout
If that’s not a balk we should just remove the rule.
You can’t just go up there and balk.
I balk at that idea.
Don’t be that guy
Tbf ain’t nobody knows what s balk is
I’ll die of old age before I’ll be able to define what a balk is….and that was a balk
🫢…who do you guys got winning?…
🫢…dbacks…
🫢…yea…
🫢…same here…
lol downvotes are so pathetic I love it
First thing my mind went to
I don’t really how to describe a balk, but I know one when I see one. that should have been a balk
It’s not a perfect explanation, but generally when I try to give a sense of what a balk entails to casual/non-nerd fans I just describe it as, “whenever a pitcher does anything abnormal in his delivery that might trick a runner.”
And yes, that should have been one.
Yeah it’s even more funny because a lot of balks are called when the pitcher just fucks up and isn’t actually trying to screw with runners; except this one they actually are trying to pick him off.
Then there’s that one time Joe West decided to fuck with Mark Buehrle for no real reason
There’s at least one instance where a dude goes into his windup and gets knocked over by a gust of wind for a balk
In those cases, I’d always think common sense would be wiser. Yeah, it’s baseball outdoors, so weather is always a factor, but at the same time, if it’s clearly obvious the intent wasn’t to deceive, that some grace should be given.
I mean the intent wasn’t to deceive. The intent also wasn’t to be blown over, but that happened. It feels like they’ve become a pushback power move, but with runners on, they have massive implications.
Additionally, when it’s a nothing play and just another pitch, it seems crazy to call a balk to push in a run.
Hawk Harrelsons great hits
I don’t think they were planning on picking him off. He shorted his normal delivery because he sensed PCA coming down the line and it looks like he stepped back off the rubber during the delivery.
Which is funny because this description would apply to literally every lefty pick off to first ever. Matt Boyd being one of the worst offenders
I choose to believe this is just balk karma since Boyd’s pickoff move is almost always a balk and never gets called.
Didn’t he get one called against us last series? I remember at first I was mad cus it seemed like a bad call, and then on review it was clear as day he started going home and then threw to 1st
Except lefties. They’re allowed to do whatever the fuck they want because they were born privileged
I pitched until I was 22. Stepping back off the rubber like that mid windup and continuing home is borderline comical in pony league
Doing this at the pro level and the umps missing it is malpractice.
We sucked this game and deserved to lose so I say this unbiasedly
Yeah it’s it a win if they call it. But they should have called it. PCA did his job perfectly.
but I know one when I see one
Ok Potter Stewart
have never seen that referenced by name dropping the justice before, well done
Basically a pitcher faking out the batter, in a sense.
🐔🐔🐔
MLB Network just talked about it for 10 minutes. They showed he stepped off and Harold and Dan immediately said 100% balk.
Then Glasnow was interviewed and they asked him to, he also said balk.
Umpires need to be better. PCA and Quinton Berry (3rd base coach were right)
Rule 1c-b is literally as clear a rule as you can get.
I’m just confused about whether you can be up there and just doin’ a balk like that
You can’t be
Except for when you can
Just dont balk, alright?
It seems you can if you are not Mathew Boyd.
I can rarely tell when there’s a balk, but this one is super obvious.
Whenever there’s a controversial balk call I’ve often said that umps are really good at calling these and even when it looks like theyve got it wrong in the moment, they’re usually proven right by some obscure rule that only very high level officials would even know exists. I simply can’t see that being true in this case.
Wait Tyler Glasnow? I’m confused lol
Yes he just did a live interview with Greg, Harold and Dan
Asking active players to weigh in on controversial calls not involving their team is hilarious to me. I want to see more of it
The angle from behind home plate makes it less clear, but the outfield camera you can clearly see his left foot step off the rubber before delivering the pitch. Definitely a balk.
The third base camera makes it clear and indisputable
Makes sense why their so heated at third base. Pretty clear view for both PCA and the third base coach.
&the 3rd base ump…
Unfortunately part of their job requirement is to suffer from occassional blindness.
So you can just be up there doin a balk
> Umpires need to be better.
“bUt WhAt AbOuT tHe HuMaN eLeMeNt!?” - Umpires Union probably
It’s karma for Berry relaying our pitches in game 1
Holy shit, that’s a bad miss.
If you were watching the game too, MLB Network shows Counsell emerging from the clubhouse steps immediately looking at the 3rd base ump, Harold and Dan guessed he saw a replay and was furious
I’m not watching the game (just following along on MLB), but seeing it, I’m shocked Counsell didn’t get tossed here.
Something tells me the umpires know they missed it. I give him credit he saved PCA and Berry both being thrown out initially. He was actually calm when he approached the crew chief to ask for a crew chief review
Yeah, both he and Berry do a great job of getting PCA out of trouble there and I especially like Berry telling the 2nd base ump to basically shut up and go back to your position.
They definitely knew they fucked up and throwing any of them out would just make it worse
He doesnt have the energy for that
The radio broadcast made it seem like he quickly pivoted to calming Pete down because he was close to getting tossed
Apparently being upset that the umpires blew an incredibly obvious call means you’re a prick crybaby.
Only to those that hate Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Because it was a balk, Cubs lost a run in a tight pennant race where they are trying to catch Milwaukee. I’d be upset as was PCA, Quinton Berry and Craig Counsell after he saw the replay between innings
After this game, the Cubs are closer to Arizona than Milwaukee. They haven’t guaranteed themselves a playoff spot even. This is a big deal.
Nah he was before this /s
this but no /s
In a vacuum I agree with you but his comments to the female heckler earlier this season set that narrative. This just gives it more ammunition.
Lol
Huh. Apparently you can be up (and/or back?) there doing a balk like that.
I can do the two step if I want to before dealing the pitch
But only if your catcher balks with you. A balk times a balk is a nothing.
Don’t call them battery mates for nothing
Umpires: Do Not Do a Balk Please (because we don’t know what they are either)
Apparently you can just be up there doing a balk.
Wheeler does it almost every pitch
You can’t balk with no runners on, so no he doesn’t.
And here I thought balk rules were IMPORTANT
4 blind morons officiating this game…. That balk was so obvious that my 13 month old could tell…..
you should have seen how bad Malachi Moore’s zone was last night for both teams. egregious
Yeah pretty crazy
Umps have been terrible the whole series.
Something something Cubs-Diamondbacks something somthing never normal
I thought we got all the stupid out of the systems yesterday
Well the teams did. Not so much for the umps
If you find a way to remove the stupid from Malachi Moore you’d win a nobel prize
Nah, game one was to boring. This was inevitable.
How do four umps miss a balk and why on earth is this not a reviewable play? It’s wild
That’s so much of a balk it’s the only one that ever gets called in MLB the Show
I had no idea there were even balks in that game
As if lefty’s don’t have enough of an advantage already lol
1. You can just be up there and just doin’ a balk like that.
1a. A balk is when you
1b. Okay well listen. A balk is when you balk the
1c. Let me start over
1c-a. The pitcher is not allowed to do a motion to the, uh, batter, that prohibits the batter from doing, you know, just trying to hit the ball. You can’t do that.
1c-b. Once the pitcher is in the stretch, he can’t be over here and say to the runner, like, “I’m gonna get ya! I’m gonna tag you out! You better watch your butt!” and then just be like he didn’t even do that.
1c-b(1). Like, if you’re about to pitch and then don’t pitch, you have to still pitch. You cannot not pitch. Does that make any sense?
1c-b(2). You gotta be, throwing motion of the ball, and then, until you just throw it.
1c-b(2)-a. Okay, well, you can have the ball up here, like this, but then there’s the balk you gotta think about.
1c-b(2)-b. Fairuza Balk hasn’t been in any movies in forever. I hope she wasn’t typecast as that racist lady in American History X.
1c-b(2)-b(i). Oh wait, she was in The Waterboy too! That would be even worse.
1c-b(2)-b(ii). “get in mah bellah” – Adam Water, “The Waterboy.” Haha, classic…
1c-b(3). Okay seriously though. A balk is when the pitcher makes a movement that, as determined by, when you do a move involving the baseball and field of
as much as I love erod, 100% a balk and i’m not sure HOW 4 umpires missed it, especially the 3B ump
gotta tell your fellow fans that, some of them seem to wanna call everyone else out for being rightfully upset by it
not sure I’d be telling other fan bases how to act IYFMD…
Everyone and their mother seemed to think this was a balk except the umpiring crew. Just make it reviewable whenever we play the next season…
Whatever for now. It’s baseball, this kind of thing happens, and we need more than one run to win this thing anyway.
OK, so if it wasn’t a balk (it was), what was it? Did anyone see the rest? Was it deemed a pitch they called a ball? Because…a pickoff to an unoccupied base is a balk.
Yeah, even as a Dback fan I seriously don’t understand how this wasn’t a balk. The fact the crew got together and still got it wrong is an absolute joke
To parrot what others have said: absolute *dog*shit crew this series.
They didn’t even call it a pitch, so they deemed he legally stepped off the rubber, which allows him to throw to home without it being another balk, and that makes it extra confusing how they missed the balk.
Edit: I stand corrected. It was a pitch.
Yes they called it a pitch, it was ball 3.
https://preview.redd.it/88rvkti6rslh1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aba1fcaa26919cf079b15a16fc0569fc32e5a12e
Ah, it was so far out it didn’t show up in the small screen when I look at it. My bad.
It was a “changeup” all right…
lol, GameDay guy looking for the “Label this pitch a balk” button… “changeup… close enough i guess”
100% balk
“It still ends 1-2” yall act like the rest of the game was set in stone. The batting order for the cubs would be shifted 1
No telling how the game is played if the cubs have the lead.
I’m saving this absolute gem of a reply for posterity. Thank you friend.
Alfonso Marquez is incompetent. He missed around 20 pitches by several inches tonight. Every hitter looked confused at the strike zone. Hopefully there is some accountability allowed through the union for him.
The balk might be the single most hilariously misinterpreted rule in all of sports. Anytime it does or doesn’t get called it seems to cause controversy and confusion between one or more of the fan, player, ump trifecta. This one’s pretty clear and seems like one of the few times we could have got an uncontroversial balk call. But somehow the ump missed it.
The umps have been terrible for all 3 games this series
They really have. Some of the worst I’ve seen this season.
Catchers gotta step in front of the pointy part of home for it to be a balk. He steps to the side which is legal.
However the pitcher balked during his delivery. That was missed.
I think there’s legitimately 3 ways to interpret it that are all considered balks and they don’t agree on one lol
That’s brutally obvious
Incompetent umpiring never goes out of style.
Balk
I think it’s a balk, but I can see the explanation for why it’s not. When pitching from set position, the pitcher can step off after coming set, provided he actually comes set (to a stop). In the umpire’s judgment, Rodriguez comes set and then steps off. I think he doesn’t stop for long enough for it not to be continuous, but there is no minimum amount of time a pitcher must be set to fulfill the requirement.
Not sure if this is warranted for this particular event, but I sure do think rampant sports betting is continuing to ruin the game for the fans.
What a fucking joke
If he didn’t declare he was using the windup, that should have been the easiest balk call.
Catcher is also in the batters box before the pitch. PCA did his job and umps blew it.
That won’t show up in his WAR. Partially because the upms missed the call of course, but it wouldn’t anyway
i’m so confused. was it supposed to be a balk by the pitcher (as reddit comments are saying) or by the catcher (as the announcers are saying).
Then another commentor said it wasn’t even a pitch.
Anyone ELI5 what the actual balk rule violated was?
There is no such thing as a balk by a catcher. What they mean is that the catcher did something that messed up the pitcher and caused him to balk. Seems like he started his pitching motion, the catcher stood up and held his golve well out of the zone and the pitcher shuffled his feet and stepped off the rubber while delivering the ball. Play is dead when the pitcher balks, so technically no pitch. Unless this umpire crew is working the game, then it’s just a pitch.
There is such a thing as a balk by a catcher. For example, leaving the catchers box early is a catchers balk. The penalty of which is the same as a balk on a pitcher. In this instance the catcher, although kinda close, did not balk.
Although it’s colloquially called a catcher’s balk, the balk is still credited to the pitcher and the catcher is given an error for interference, so the other person is technically correct.
Either one. The pitcher stepped off the mound and the catcher jumped in front of the plate before the throw came. Both are violations, I’m pretty sure.
Idk I think the umps got the call right /s
What’s Fairuza Balk up to these days?
Umps have been calling in favor of AZ all series
You’re that far into your motion, just pitch it normally lmao
I feel it is time for me to admit that i don’t know what the heck is going on here.
Wouldn’t this just be a pitch out?
From the stretch he has to stop from the position he was in he doesn’t need to stop but he also can not step off once he starts his motion. It’s not a balk but they could have said it was a quick pitch
https://preview.redd.it/lfs7wqo3tslh1.jpeg?width=1206&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b8ea7a3801a88d4a28bf5658504cbfb087bc8690
He stepped off the back of the mound here
Then it’s a balk but from the video it doesn’t look like he stepped back
Baseball is so silly. I love this shit!!!
A lot of pitchers lift their free foot up a little in the windup so that they can turn it. So technically, it’s always illegal to do it
There are better replays but watch again, he doesn’t just lift it. He steps off the back of the rubber.
You get your natural motion though. This was not that.
To echo the other comments, he steps off the back. But he also picks it up a second time before he throws it anyway, so I’d argue that’s a pretty clear balk even if he didn’t step off the back of the rubber
+2 to his fWAR for being a crybaby bitch
Pete crow Armstrong needs a pacifier or bottle.
Not as much as the ump needs glasses
It’s always the flairless.
Very happy when PCA is unhappy… sounds like a great call to me.
PCA’s luck is running out.
Pete does not look 24, looks at least 40
I wonder why 🤔
Is the reason that you’re blind?
Skinny Pete, noted steroid user
A rod was slim too
Was…before he put on 40 pounds. I’ll give it to you for being creative, though
PCAggravated
FTD
imagine thinking this mattered when your team hit the ball two times the entire game
It was a tied, 0-0 game at the time. It 100% mattered you dork.
They would have lost 2-1 if this mattered so much
Yes, because everyone knows the game would have played out the same way after momentum changes…
But you lost, and failed to hit the ball all day. It did not in fact matter at the end of the day. Gotta hit the ball to win.
Jesus, you’re dumb.
Back in your cage, pipsqueak
They should have tossed him
Have
Should’ve
This ladies in gentleman was the work of a dude who barely passed English class
God, what a dumb hothead. He just seems so freaking insufferable and fragile. The minute he has a down year he’s gonna be real fun to be around, I bet.
Downvote me, Northsiders. I feed off of your hate. It sustains me. I get off to it. Please, downvote me. It makes me so happy and horny.
It’s funny to me how triggered you are by him 🤣
The funny part is where you think I’m triggered instead of the one doing the triggering. 😁
Downvotes speak for themselves.
Replying twice to one comment to prove you’re not triggered 👍
https://preview.redd.it/pq4yl793zslh1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1fc8c72e8cbbdb2bc435682c53878a52e1cc893d
Yup! Just to get more tasty downvotes!
I just call it like I see it, my man.
Should probably get some glasses or something then.
Your hate sustains me
Unbiased opinion I’m sure lol
Totes McGoates
In this situation PCA is 110% in the right. In a pennant race, every run matters.
But charging the umpires is acceptable? Even in the middle of a pennant race?
He should be more like a south sider, and charge at elderly first base coaches I guess
Absolutely!
non cubs and pca fans are downvoting you, why do you think that is?
I dunno, but I love it
You don’t know? Embarrassing.
Maybe? I’m getting a kick out of it, so I’d say likely not
I get off to it.
We need to bring back kink shaming.
Unf
Spoken like a true narcissist
Sox fans really do have an inferiority complex