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How Pirates lost on maddening interference call for final out against Rockies originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It appeared the Pittsburgh Pirates had tied the game in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies.
Jake Magnum's slow infield grounder with two outs and the bases loaded resulted in no throw. Everyone was safe. But then the umpires got together and called interference on Pirates runner Billy Cook, resulting in an out that ended the game.
Instead of tied 2-2 and still playing, it was a 2-1 Colorado win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
Initially, Pirates manager Don Kelly argued pretty fiercely with the umpires (pictured above). But when the dust settles, it was clear the right call was made.
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Why was it interference on Pirates?
As Cook ran from second base toward third base, he clipped Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros' glove with his foot.
The ball hadn't yet reached Karros, but the contact messed up his rhythm, which is why he didn't throw.
“I was going to get the ball, then his cleat kind of clipped my glove,” Karros said postgame, via MLB.com. “I still fielded the ball, but it was all kind of rattling around in my glove, so I couldn’t really get a throw off. But I knew the rule going into it.”
The fielder is protected in situations such as these. It's essentially a smaller version of if the runner fully ran over a defender who was trying to field the baseball.
Before the ball arrives, a base line isn't actually established. The runner has to avoid the fielder.
Cook didn't do that, and so interference was called.
“No, I didn’t feel contact, and then all of a sudden they called me out and I was like, ‘Dude, I didn’t feel it,’” Cook said postgame, via MLB.com. “I watched the replay and it nicks just enough of his glove, but the cleat and everything, I didn’t feel it in the toe area. I guess the replay shows that I did. The video doesn’t lie. Just unfortunate how that played out.”
The night could've led to more excitement for the Pirates, but instead, it ended in frustration.
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