Major League Baseball has admitted that replay umpires in New York botched a call that cost Brandon Crawford a two-run home run in the ninth inning of the Giants 5-2 loss to the Cardinals on Friday night.
Initially called a home run, umpires reversed the ruling to a ground-rule double following a challenge by Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, believing that the fan who caught the ball reached over the green roof of the Willie Mays wall. The determination was curious, as replay’s seemed to clearly show that the ball was going to hit the roof, which would’ve been a clear home run.
Here is the official statement from MLB:
The news release from @mlb. #SFGiants @bcraw35 pic.twitter.com/sPdgz9XbX8
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) September 1, 2017
The fan who caught the ball was ejected from the stadium.
Crawford was less than pleased with the ruling after the game.