New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was incensed after outfielder Pete Alonso was called out on a bang-bang play at home plate in the ninth inning of Wednesday night’s loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Mendoza wasn’t arguing whether or not Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya got the tag down on Alonso in time. His argument was that Amaya blocked home plate, which is in direct violation of a rule put into place a decade ago that emphasized player safety from home plate collisions.
Here’s a replay of the call that ended the game, and it was close:
Mendoza argued with the home plate umpire about the call, and the call was reviewed and upheld after it was determined that Amaya had sufficiently blocked home plate without stepping on the base, which is legal.
Mendoza clearly did not agree with the call on the field that cost his club a chance at tying the game. He let his feelings be known in the postgame press conference.
“Yeah, the interpretation of the rule,” Mendoza said when asked about his biggest gripe with the call. “It’s one of those that they send out a memo in spring training, what’s legal and what’s illegal. And it’s clearly on that e-mail that we got that catchers aren’t allowed to have their foot in front of the plate, on top of the plate. They can’t straddle without possession of the baseball. And it was very clearly that the guy was…had his left foot on top of the plate without the baseball. I think they got the wrong call. “
It was a tough loss for the Mets, who fell to 15-15 on the season. They’ll look to avenge the loss with a day game against the Cubs on Thursday afternoon.
