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Joe West might have stolen ALCS Game 4 from the Astros

This was a bad call by West, and that should not surprise you.

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

You all saw it, I’d think, or if you haven’t, here it is: The call [VIDEO] that might have changed the trajectory of the American League Championship Series.

Naturally, Joe West is at the center of the play here. West was the right-field umpire for this game, and you can see him near the beginning of the video at the bottom of the frame. He wasn’t all that close to where the ball, Mookie Betts and a fan all converged near the right-field wall, but he eventually signaled that Jose Altuve was out for fan interference. The call went to review and was ruled “call stands.”

I thought the “out” call was wrong to begin with and I wasn’t alone:

The replay seemed clear. Betts’ glove was definitely past the wall and there was at least one angle showing this. How the review crew missed this, I have no idea. Here’s what West said after the game:

West is wrong, period, end of story wrong. I don’t know if he had seen video at the time he made those statements, but even if he did afterwards, you know Joe West — he’s not going to admit he was wrong.

Further evidence that West was wrong:

Altuve had a two-run homer stolen from him. If that’s ruled a home run, it’s a tie game and the entire evening likely turns out differently, since the Astros lost by two runs.

And even if you do think it was interference, “out” was the wrong call, according to this:

It would not surprise me to see Major League Baseball issue a statement today admitting they got this one wrong. Or not, since that might cause more controversy than we already have.

The Astros had a chance to win anyway in the ninth inning with the bases loaded when Andrew Benintendi made a fantastic catch to put the game away for the Red Sox. But it shouldn’t have gotten to that point with Houston behind. They should have had at least two more runs.

Poll

Joe West’s call on the Betts/Altuve play and the replay review decision...

This poll is closed

  • 30%
    Right call
    (261 votes)
  • 69%
    Wrong call
    (586 votes)
847 votes total Vote Now