Last week’s game between the White Sox and the Orioles finished with an outrageous interference ruling on an infield fly rule that was a complete umpire show. While this play did not end the game, a very similar situation lost the New York Yankees a potential big inning against the Angels on Wednesday night.
The Bronx Bombers loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first, bringing up Giancarlo Stanton as they attempted to post a crooked number on the scoreboard. However, when Stanton stepped up to shortstop, chaos followed.
Have a peek at the play.
What is Soto doing wrong here? He is literally standing on the bag when the contact occurs. Should he stand off the bag, allowing Zach Neto to catch the ball and instantly double him off? Yes, he could have gotten to the bag faster, but Neto definitely didn’t have a good beat on the ball, and Soto may have tried to advance.
Furthermore, the Angels incurred no losses as a result of the transaction. The out on the catch had already been recorded due to the infield fly rule, therefore no one advanced. It appears like the umpire might easily have ignored the contact and granted the out. Instead, Soto was penalized for interference, manager Aaron Boone was removed, and the Yankees went scoreless after Alex Verdugo grounded out to first.
This is strikingly similar to the play from last week.
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