Safe????

[Thunderheads]

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=20897055&c_id=mlb

[Umpire in Chief]

With the benefit of replay, out. So the call was missed, but it was a banger.

[noumpere]

Certianly not worth getting tossed over no matter which way the would of gone and on a tag on the hip or waist area the runner is more often than not going to be viewed as safe.

[Mike Prince]

And the signal was a tag on the hip, so the call makes sense.

[johnnyg08]

I think he was out earlier though...he was fighting for his player. That's why he got dumped.

Tough call. Only via replay did I think he was out. I do wonder if taking this play from C would've given him a better shot at getting it right.

It was a huge call because that guy scored the game winning run.

[Mike Prince]

Not sure he would ever be in C in this situation though if there was just R1, tough to say.

Sometimes all of the slo-mo hi-def replays create too much controversy. Gotta make your best call at full speed.

[Thunderheads]

Obviously he didn't see him slide into his foot and never get the bag until long after the tag .....

[UmpJM]

I think Welke saw the fielder initially "bobble" the throw and was got so focused on seeing when he gained "secure possession" that he failed to notice the runner touched the fielder's foot rather than the base.

JM

[sdix00]

Eyes are on the tag here and I just don't agree it is possible to see a tag and a hand on the base at the same time.

Unfortunately, this particular replay shows that the hip tag was not a good reason to call safe on this play.

I am a big fan of taking these plays from C in 3/4 man, for this reason. It is definitely a personal preference and a LOT of outstanding umpires will argue B, but I believe that being able to take this from C is one of the biggest benefits of working 3/4 man.

Gutsy call, and I would guess this call is a result of umpires shifting to calling what they see (due to pressure from 15 replay angles) rather than just offering the expected call. I anticipate fewer 'expected' calls moving forward as replay puts more pressure on the umpires. There will be two contests at every game. One contest between the two baseball teams, and another contest between the umpires and replay. It's going to take time for the umpires to adjust, I think.

For me, U2 had a different angle and that is all there is to it.

[carolinablue]

Is it just me or does that field look dark to you, for a MLB stadium.

[johnnyg08]

Not sure he would ever be in C in this situation though if there was just R1, tough to say.

Sometimes all of the slo-mo hi-def replays create too much controversy. Gotta make your best call at full speed.

They have the option to work from B or C in those cases, so he could've taken it there.