Maybe it’s a small sample fluke, maybe it’s the increasing proliferation of highlights and attention. But, man, there have already been so many completely unacceptable bad calls this year across baseball. Like, the kinds of calls that should *never* be made.
Add another to the list.
Andrew McCutchen was called out on this play for running out of the baseline. Just wait until you see the broadcast superimpose the line of his route from first base to second base – it is colloquially known as a perfectly straight line:
Francisco Lindor turns two (?): pic.twitter.com/7KN45O7zJv
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 2, 2021
When the other team’s broadcasters are blasting the call – “a simply DREADFUL call” – you know it was bad. Sure, watching live, you can see that McCutchen makes a move with his body to avoid the tag, but his baseline stays a straight line. Your baseline is the route directly from where you start running as the fielder gets the ball, straight to the base where you are running, and you are allowed to stray up to three feet in either direction to avoid a tag. So even in a world where McCutchen did stray a little – he didn’t! – he was allowed to do it a little bit!
And, to add insult to injury, the umpires overturned the safe call at first base even though he sure looked safe to me on a quick look. So zero deserved outs became two.