As you all know, Andres Torres lost an apparent leadoff double in the ninth inning when he was ruled out for missing first base, and the St. Louis Cardinals held off the Mets 5-4 Monday.
What you may not know is that according to an Associated Press report, it was former Met and current Cardinals star Carlos Beltran, who was on the bench, that told manager Mike Matheny to make the appeal.
“We’re saying our MVP is Carlos Beltran, who never hit the field,” Matheny said.
Said Beltran: “I was in the cage and watching him running. He was looking at the ball and not the bag. I saw sand coming up around the bag area and told them let’s try to throw to first.”
Torres obviously touched the bag, and that blown appeal call completely killed what could have been a game altering rally in the top of the ninth.
Umpiring in his first MLB game, first base ump David Rackley said he wouldn’t make that call if he weren’t sure.
Crew chief Dale Scott said the umpires watched televised replays afterward and agreed the call was correct.
“It was exactly what (Rackley) described. His foot went over, the toes hit the ground, the heel never did,” Scott said. “And did you see where (Rackley) was? He was right there to make the call.”
Terrible call… But #BlameBeltran… For Reals!
