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Monday, April 30, 2007

AP: Cardinals Pujols takes a walk—on ball three

Cardinals’ slugger Albert Pujols got a premature walk in the sixth inning of St. Louis’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

Pujols fell behind Brewers’ starter and former teammate Jeff Suppan 0-2 before fouling off a pitch, taking two balls and fouling off another. He was awarded first base by home plate umpire Dan Iassogna after the next pitch.

“I was mad at myself for going to 3-2 after being up 0-2, and then I saw him walking to first,” said Suppan, who figured that maybe it was his mistake and he had walked him. “I looked at the umpire expecting him to call him back, but no one said anything. I just moved on and it didn’t end up hurting me.”
...
Official scorer Tim O’Driscoll confirmed Pujols, who extended his hitting streak to nine with a single in the first, walked on the third ball of the at-bat.

NTNgod Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:57 PM | 43 comment(s)
Related News: General, Milwaukee, St Louis

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1. greenback

Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:02 PM (#2350592)

This won't look good on Retrosheet.

2. Justin T Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:06 PM (#2350601)

Nice couple days for the umps.

3. Ryan Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:06 PM (#2350602)

I remember Jim Thome once doing this several years ago against the Jays thanks to Fieldin Culbreth being unable to count.

4. Dedicated to Esoteric but he wasn't listening Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:11 PM (#2350612)

I've heard about the great hitters getting the calls...but this is a little ridiculous. I can't wait to hear the play-by-play of the call on Brewers TV and radio.

5. battlekow Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:24 PM (#2350620)

I've heard about the great hitters getting the calls...but this is a little ridiculous. I can't wait to hear the play-by-play of the call on Brewers TV and radio.

There was no Brewers TV; it was on ESPN. The ESPN crew didn't realize it until the next inning, and joked about it for awhile.

6. Bob Dernier Cri

Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:25 PM (#2350622)

It was the only "walk" Suppan gave up all night, in a complete game victory. He's 4-2, 2.55 ERA ... seems like only yesterday he was a #4 starter :)

7. Cutter Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:31 PM (#2350631)

Iassogna is a notorious jackass. No surprise here.

8. Inquisitor Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:35 PM (#2350635)

Honestly, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often. I know it's their job, but I'd probably screw it up once in a while, too.

9. Dag Nabbit: formerly tolerant of lactose Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:36 PM (#2350636)

In the 1970s or 1980s someone in the NL hit a triple on a 4-ball, 2-strike count.

10. MM1f Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:37 PM (#2350637)

More young hitters should display this kind of plate discipline

11. bibigon Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:38 PM (#2350639)

Just watched it - nobody seemed to notice. He went to 0-2, worked it to 2-2, fouled one off, and then took a ball and jogged to 1B.

12. AlouGoodbye Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:39 PM (#2350640)

The ESPN crew didn't realize it until the next inning

Competence all round.

13. bibigon Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:46 PM (#2350644)

And the WTMJ broadcast didn't say anything either, although they did pause for about seven seconds before saying that Pujols walked. Seemed like maybe they were trying to figure out what happened before assuming the guys on the field knew what they were doing. No comment though.

14. Brandon in MO (Fire Trey Hillman) Posted: April 30, 2007 at 09:56 PM (#2350649)

We should put an asterik on Pujols' walk total for 2007

15. Brandon in MO (Fire Trey Hillman) Posted: April 30, 2007 at 10:04 PM (#2350654)

Anyways, Pujols was in mourning, therefore he can take first on ball 3.

16. Lassus Posted: April 30, 2007 at 10:05 PM (#2350655)

To me, the really odd thing here was how no one in the entire stadium noticed. No player, no coach, no ballboy, none of the fans in the first 3 rows who could call out to any of the coaches, players, or umps... There's a huge span of time between that start of the job to the first pitch to the next player. It is a fascinating study of the human mind that it just made it by everyone.

17. Lassus Posted: April 30, 2007 at 10:07 PM (#2350658)

Er, start of Pujols' JOG, that is. You get the idea.

18. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: April 30, 2007 at 10:11 PM (#2350661)

In this Tom Verducci article where he is an umpire for a spring training game:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/the_bonus/03/28/verducci.umpire0402/index.html

"Major league umpires are, in fact, closer to perfect than you might imagine. There were 167,341 at bats last season over 2,429 games. According to the 2006 "Umpiring Year in Review," a report put together by MLB officials, the men in blue made only 100 incorrect calls, excluding balls and strikes (and in that discipline they were judged to be 94.9% accurate). Not once did a club protest a game. (A protest can be filed only if a team believes umpires misapplied the rules.)"

I find 100 total incorrect calls hard to believe.

19. Brandon in MO (Fire Trey Hillman) Posted: April 30, 2007 at 10:49 PM (#2350681)

Ozzie Guillen wishes that he could have taken first after drawing 3 balls.

20. Vaux, A.B.D. Posted: May 01, 2007 at 12:48 AM (#2350753)

Seven seconds, eh? Hmmmm. . .

21. NTNgod Posted: May 01, 2007 at 12:50 AM (#2350754)

Seven seconds, eh? Hmmmm...

UECKER: What a *#*(@*@(# call! This ump's got his head up his #*# !!!!

(delay button no longer pushed)
UECKER: And that's ball four, folks! Pujols takes his base...

22. El Hombre Triple MVP (Alex) Posted: May 01, 2007 at 01:13 AM (#2350762)

I find 100 total incorrect calls hard to believe.

A report put together by MLB officials

That about says it for me. Anyway, as far as bad calls go...Deckinger is the famous one, but his wasn't even the worst call to happen to a team from Missouri.

23. DCW3 Posted: May 01, 2007 at 02:14 AM (#2350780)

Look, if Albert Pujols says that he walked, he walked. You don't question him.

24. Walt Davis Posted: May 01, 2007 at 03:21 AM (#2350790)

3 innings later, the umpires corrected their mistake and added a run to the Orioles' score.

25. The elusive Robert Denby Posted: May 01, 2007 at 06:52 AM (#2350816)

"Major league umpires are, in fact, closer to perfect than you might imagine. There were 167,341 at bats last season over 2,429 games. According to the 2006 "Umpiring Year in Review," a report put together by MLB officials, the men in blue made only 100 incorrect calls, excluding balls and strikes (and in that discipline they were judged to be 94.9% accurate). Not once did a club protest a game. (A protest can be filed only if a team believes umpires misapplied the rules.)"

Please. Angel Hernandez tops 100 before the All Star Game.

26. The elusive Robert Denby Posted: May 01, 2007 at 06:55 AM (#2350818)

Oh, and Albert Pujols should have his walk taken away.

27. Cuddyer Mak'er Posted: May 01, 2007 at 07:16 AM (#2350825)

Oh, and Albert Pujols should have his walk taken away.

And replaced with what?

28. 2 Balls on Clemente Posted: May 01, 2007 at 07:32 AM (#2350837)

"And replaced with what?"

Scorn.

29. retro-shiite Posted: May 01, 2007 at 07:32 AM (#2350838)

It was the only "walk" Suppan gave up all night, in a complete game victory. He's 4-2, 2.55 ERA ... seems like only yesterday he was a #4 starter :)

I think it's hilarious that the Cardinals have been beaten twice in the first month of the season by both of the starting pitchers they let go as free agents.

30. Edmundo is Super Average Man

Posted: May 01, 2007 at 07:33 AM (#2350839)

<del>the men in blue</del> Cowboy Joe West made only 100 incorrect calls in April, the best month of his career

31. Tropical Storm Davis aka Quilvio "Ebola" Veras Posted: May 01, 2007 at 07:51 AM (#2350844)

Don't the umps use those little plastic things with dials to track balls and strikes? How about the motherlovin' SCOREBOARD?

32. Levi Stahl Posted: May 01, 2007 at 10:26 AM (#2350945)

I would put the teams' failure to notice this down to the lingering shock of Hancock's death. All the reports from the game suggest that the Cardinals looked like zombies, which I remember being the case in the game the night after Daryl Kile died, too. And Suppan had been Hancock's teammate as recently as October, so you could imagine him being a bit distracted, too. Their heads just aren't in it, which is understandable.

That reason doesn't really fly for the umps, though.

33. Biscuit_pants Posted: May 01, 2007 at 10:42 AM (#2350959)

And Suppan had been Hancock's teammate as recently as October, so you could imagine him being a bit distracted, too.

when I first read Suppan's comments I thought he was saying he knew the count and was surprised to see Pujols walking to first and when no one said anything he figured, I am not arguing with that!

34. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: May 01, 2007 at 10:45 AM (#2350964)

That about says it for me. Anyway, as far as bad calls go...Deckinger is the famous one, but his wasn't even the worst call to happen to a team from Missouri.

The fifth down game is so overblown. CU never would have spiked the ball on the real fourth down.

35. _ Posted: May 01, 2007 at 10:52 AM (#2350968)

I think with any other hitter the Brewers would have protested, but with Albert they figured, "Why tempt fate?" and let him take the walk.

36. PepTech Posted: May 01, 2007 at 10:59 AM (#2350978)

CU never would have spiked the ball on the real fourth down.

And Webber never would have called time out if the bench hadn't told him to...

37. Bunny Vincennes Posted: May 01, 2007 at 11:26 AM (#2351004)

Well, I'll tell you who did notice from his seat in Club Box Whatever. My friend The Chairman, went absolutely ballistic about it. Not only did he call me from the game about it, I also got four text messages. He's maniacle though.

38. Greg Maddux School of Reflexive Profanity Posted: May 01, 2007 at 11:50 AM (#2351024)

The ESPN crew didn't realize it until the next inning, and joked about it for awhile.

To be fair, they were too busy talking about 1982 at the time to be expected to pay attention to the count.

39. JPWF13

Posted: May 01, 2007 at 12:02 PM (#2351031)

The fifth down game is so overblown. CU never would have spiked the ball on the real fourth down.

No, but they wouldn't have had the extra time to run the play they wanted to either. He spiked the ball with 2 seconds left, if he ran a play instead who knows what would have happened

40. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: May 01, 2007 at 12:15 PM (#2351044)

No, but they wouldn't have had the extra time to run the play they wanted to either. He spiked the ball with 2 seconds left, if he ran a play instead who knows what would have happened

I will grant that their chances of success would have been lowered, but most people who complain about it seem to act as if their chance of success would have been 0%.

41. Los Angeles Waterloo of Black Hawk Posted: May 01, 2007 at 01:20 PM (#2351103)

I'm not buying that 100 mistakes per year thing, either. Hell, I've seen three or four mistakes just in the past three Angels games (going against both teams). 100 mistakes per season comes out to one mistake for every 24 games. I don't know, that just seems off. I'd have guessed 1 in every 5 games.

42. TDF, situational idiot Posted: May 01, 2007 at 01:49 PM (#2351121)

I'd have guessed 1 in every 5 games.

Which, to be fair, is still pretty damn good.

43. phredbird

Posted: May 01, 2007 at 01:57 PM (#2351126)

see, that's how good an eye pujols has. he knew the next pitch was a ball.

that's not as funny as it sounded in my head.

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Monday, April 30, 2007

AP: Cardinals Pujols takes a walk—on ball three

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