Incorrect judgment calls will not land Major League Baseball umpires in hot water. Incorrect application of the rules will.
MLB officials on Friday suspended umpire Fieldin Culbreth two games, The Associated Press reported. Culbreth was a member of the umpiring crew that allowed Houston Astros manager Bo Porter to make an improper switch of relief pitchers in the middle of an inning.
The entire crew of Porter, Adrian Johnson, Brian O'Nora and Bill Welke, also were fined an undisclosed amount.
The issue arose Thursday night in the seventh inning at Houston's Minute Maid Park. The Astros led the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 with two outs. Houston reliever Wesley Wright entered the game and threw several warm-up pitches from the mound.
Porter, a first-year manager, ran onto the field and halted Wright's warm-up and brought in another reliever, Hector Ambriz. Angels manager Mike Scioscia complained that Wright was required to pitch to a batter, but the umpires allowed Ambriz to stay and pitch. The Angels played the game under protest but still won 6-5.
MLB explained the reason for the suspension and fines a day later.
"The rule covering pitching changes was not applied correctly by the umpiring crew," MLB said in a statement.
MLB already had to issue another statement two days earlier involving another blown call by an umpiring crew. Second base umpire and crew chief Angel Hernandez ruled in a game between the Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Indians that a game-tying home run that the A's Adam Rosales hit had not cleared the wall and ruled it a double.
Replays clearly showed that Rosales' hit caromed off the railing above the center-field wall, but Hernandez claimed that the replays he and his crew saw were inconclusive.
On Thursday, MLB confirmed that ruling to be in error as well, but took no corrective steps toward the umpires.
"By rule, the decision to reverse a call by use of instant replay is at the sole discretion of the crew chief," Joe Torre, who oversees umpiring for MLB, said in a statement released Thursday. "In the opinion of Angel Hernandez, who was last night's crew chief, there was not clear and convincing evidence to overturn the decision on the field. It was a judgment call, and as such, it stands as final."
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