A wildly controversial interference call in the seventh inning of Game 6 turned out to be ultimately inconsequential, as the Nationals held on to win thanks to a historic pitching performance by Stephen Strasburg, but that didn’t stop baseball fans from erupting on social media.
Washington’s Trea Turner appeared to have legged out an infield single that would have put the Astros in a major jam in a 1-run ballgame, but the runner was ruled to be out for interfering with first baseman Yuli Gurriel. Nationals manager Dave Martinez was eventually ejected from the game for arguing over the call, which the Nationals attempted to formally protest.
MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre explained the call after the game in an interview with Ken Rosenthal.
Torre: “There’s a 45-foot restraining line where you’re supposed to run as a baserunner, in between those lines. He ran to first base. That wasn’t the call, the call was the fact that he interfered with Gurriel trying to catch the ball. If you notice, the glove came off his hand. That’s when Sam Holbrook called him out for, basically, interference.”
Rosenthal: “Why isn’t that play reviewable?”
Torre: “It’s a judgment call, that’s why.”
Many baseball fans – along with FOX analyst Alex Rodriguez – weren’t buying Torre’s explanation.
