I refuse to believe that the first 100 years of Major League Baseball didn't feature a call worse than these five.

I think 3 and 4 are both unfairly included. The Lopes/Bowa play is clearly the wrong call on replay but he's out by inches, not by feet, that's a terribly close play. The Reggie play is weird. If they call Reggie out for interference I think it is still on this list because Russell probably should have been called for intentionally dropping the ball.

But what about...

I refuse to believe that the first 100 years of Major League Baseball didn't feature a call worse than these five.

These articles should really be called "The Most (whatever) In The Last Thirty Years Or So, Or Maybe Older If It Still Exists On Film"...

On (3), I'm still trying to figure out how Lopes' helmet ended up flying forward in front of the first baseman as he reached to catch the throw. The only way that could have happened is if Lopes batted it in that direction. That may have distracted the umpire enough to miss the admittedly close call.

Agreed, Jose. The Lopes play is an odd one to include. I watched that game unfold in abject horror, and I'll remember both Davalillo's hit and Mota's forever, but I neither remember the Lopes call very well nor have much of a sense that it's passed into abiding lore. The Phillies did too many other things wrong in that inning to obsess much about that call, which is awfully close even on replay.

Nothing like the Denkinger play, for instance. I didn't even have much of a rooting interest in that Series, and I was still scandalized when I saw it. It was your basic defiance of reality (I'm sure an unconscious and accidental defiance, but amazingly so).

Thank you MCoA. That's still the picture that pops into my head when I see the phrase "worst umpiring call".

I think the one where the umpire didn't call both Yankees out at third was worse. There was no bang-bang element to it, nothing that he had to see quickly in real time; nothing hard to see at all.

But what about...

Or this.

Or this.

This.

Or this.

But what about...

That was the first one that jumped to mind (that and the Armbrister play, cheating bastard). It was a much more obvious blown call than the Lopes play.

The Reggie play is weird. If they call Reggie out for interference I think it is still on this list because Russell probably should have been called for intentionally dropping the ball.

And why the hell didn't Russell just tag Munson and step on second?

I also figured the Galarraga call would be on here.

What was Luzinski still doing in left field in the 9th inning of a 2-run game?

I've never seen that Helton play. He was called out?

Jerry Meals: <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110727&c>Never Forget</a>.

the thing forgotten is that in the broadcast booth jackson was lauded for his crafty gamesmanship

nobody was criticizing the umpires. nobody

I've never seen that Helton play. He was called out?

Yeah, based on the angle Helton took fielding the ball, the umpire couldn't see that he was off the base. It really begged for assistance from one of the other umps, though obviously that only happens if the base ump asks first.

For posterity's sake, the rest of the list from TFA is:

5. Mauer's foul ball: 2009 ALDS Game 2 --- Yankees 4, Twins 3
4. Reggie's hip check: 1978 World Series Game 4 -- Yankees 4, Dodgers 3
3. Black Friday: 1977 NLCS Game 3 -- Dodgers 6, Phillies 5
1. The Jeffrey Maier affair: 1996 ALCS Game 1 -- Yankees 5, Orioles 4

I dunno how (or why...) to evaluate such a list, but I will always treasure Joe Posnanski's description of the call that ended the 19-inning Pirates-Braves game on July 26, 2011.

the immediate reaction was something resembling horror -- it seemed impossibly obvious that Lugo was out. The throw beat him by six feet, at least. McKenry was so sure that he made the tag that he was looking to see if a double play was still possible. Lugo was so sure that that he was tagged that he hardly seemed interested in touching home plate. The crowd noise -- at least what you can pick up on video -- was the sound of deflation. Everything so vividly pointed to out that the safe call was as shocking as, say, someone shooting and killing Rambo or Dirty Harry 15 minutes into the movie. People were not thinking: "My, the umpire appears to have missed that call." They were thinking: "What a minute … am I going crazy? What happens now?"

The Maier call should be ranked higher.

Or this.

I can't believe he left off the Hrbek play. That was a horrible, horrible call, and IMO it's worse than many of the others because it involved a player consciously cheating.

But the Helton, Knoblauch, and two yankees on third incidents were also terrible.

I refuse to believe that the first 100 years of Major League Baseball didn't feature a call worse than these five.
...
Or this...
Never forget

True, but FTA:

Here are what I rate as the five worst calls ever and what went wrong, as those calls perhaps changed the course of baseball history.

If you notice, all 5 are post-season games. None of the pictures depict such important games, while the 5 calls listed (in the writer's mind) affected who ultimately played in or won the World Series.

EDIT: Although #17 is a post-season game. That one was pretty bad.

Reading an ESPN top-5 article is a bad call.

What was Luzinski still doing in left field in the 9th inning of a 2-run game?

For real; I remember watching that game with a die-hard, bleeds red & white Phils fan and we had to restrain him to keep him from throwing a pewter beer mug at the TV. That doesn't excuse the poor call but all year the Phillies had substituted someone (Jerry Martin if my old mind remembers correctly) for Luzinski in exactly these situations so they have only themselves to blame for this.

jpj, yep, Jerry Martin. I was driving home; I could picture poor Bull giving it his (meager) all.

The five worst calls in baseball history were all made by Eric Gregg during Livan Hernandez' 15K game in 1997.

robinson getting called safe at home in the 1955 series eats at every yankee fan i know of my generation since whenever yogi is interviewed he insists robinson was out

If you notice, all 5 are post-season games. None of the pictures depict such important games, while the 5 calls listed (in the writer's mind) affected who ultimately played in or won the World Series..

The Pieryznski dropped-third strike led to the White Sox winning Game 2 of the ALCS when they went on to win the World Series. And the Hrbek play was in the 1991 WS, one of the tightest WS ever.

Well, if Milt Pappas is ever going to register for BTF, I guess this would be the day...

This has always been the worst one, in my opinion.

What was Luzinski still doing in left field in the 9th inning of a 2-run game?

You know this almost paid off. He was up 3rd in the bottom of the 9th and reached on a HBP

I was going to mention that Lonnie Smith was his defensive replacement, but that was a few years away. Jerry Martin was available and was a decent defensive player.

The called "strike" on Van Slyke to close out Game 6 of the 1991 NLCS with the tying run on third was abject garbage.

You know this almost paid off. He was up 3rd in the bottom of the 9th and reached on a HBP

I think the accepted wisdom is that Martin probably would have made the play that Luzinski didn't, which would have likely made the bottom of the 9th academic.

Thanks to those who remember the Hrbek play. 11-year-old me adopted the Cardinals because they beat the Giants that finished in first place above the Reds. Plus they were a sillyball team, in the opposite direction. What kid wouldn't love Vince Coleman stealing 9000 bases?

And then I saw how you can blatantly cheat and get away with it on baseball's biggest stage.

Edit: Ok, wow, I was confused. I could have sworn that was the Twins vs. Cards in 1987.

Maybe I'm just blanking on them, but I can't think of many famous bad umpire calls from the pre-TV era. Obviously having the calls on film makes a difference in how they stick in the memory.

There's obviously the Merkle game, although that's more a question of rule interpretation than a mistake about what happened.

There's Game 7 of the 1925 World Series, both in allowing it to be played in lousy weather (although I think that may have been Landis' decision), and some of the calls during the game (although visibility may have been an issue).

The Jackie Robinson steal of home, as mentioned.

I'm sure there's others I'm forgetting.

"I don't know if it hit the wall or what. Bull was a good fielder.

Gene Garber went on to call Christina Hendricks "anorexic" and 2002 Iraq "simply crawling with WMDs."

There was a onetime famous play in Game One of the 1948 World Series, where the Indians appeared to have picked the Braves' Phil Masi off second - and replays confirmed it - but he was called safe. Masi was promptly singled home to score the only run of the game. Masi later admitted in his will that he was out.

But that game didn't involve a New York team, so no one cares now.

Joaquin Andujar, relief pitcher. Now that was a bad call, Whitey.

If you notice, all 5 are post-season games. None of the pictures depict such important games, while the 5 calls listed (in the writer's mind) affected who ultimately played in or won the World Series.

The Pieryznski dropped-third strike led to the White Sox winning Game 2 of the ALCS when they went on to win the World Series.

Given that a large majority of the commentary I've heard on the Pieryznski call say the ump got it right, I don't see how that makes the list.

I'm sure there's others I'm forgetting.

Sam Rice jumping into the stands to catch a ball - either the 1925 or 1933 World Series. The ump called the guy out, always a source of controversy. Rice had a statement on the play to be opened on his death saying he caught the ball and never lost control. But a few days after that statement went public, a person who'd been in the first row of the stands that day said Rice caught it, but then dropped it, and then picked it up.

My favorite is the 1970 World Series call at the plate. It's famous as the play everyone got wrong. The runner missed the plate when he slid. The catcher tagged the runner with his glove while he held the ball in the bare hand. And the umpire was up the line and literally had his back to the plate at the time. That didn't stop him from making a call anyone - he called runner Bernie Carbo out.

That wins my vote for worst call. It wasn't just blowing a call or missing something - he was completely out of position and should never have made the call - yet he did it anyway.

There's Game 7 of the 1925 World Series, both in allowing it to be played in lousy weather (although I think that may have been Landis' decision), and some of the calls during the game (although visibility may have been an issue).

There's a World Series game - in 1922, I believe - where the umpire oddly and inexplicably ended the game due to darkness with an hour of sunlight left. Yeah, that's bad.

There was a onetime famous play in Game One of the 1948 World Series, where the Indians appeared to have picked the Braves' Phil Masi off second - and replays confirmed it

*Photographs* confirmed it. Surprisingly, I can't find it now, but I've seen it many times...

There's a World Series game - in 1922, I believe - where the umpire oddly and inexplicably ended the game due to darkness with an hour of sunlight left. Yeah, that's bad.

Chris, Judge Landis had been set up for a hot date with 17-year-old Brooklyn hottie Clara Bow, who was as much of a "prodigy" as Bob Feller...it was "now or never," so he told the umps to call the game.

And, you know, it's a cryin' shame that Jeffrey Maier didn't turn out to be good enough to at least play minor-league baseball. Think of the field day everyone would have had if that had been the case...

I've never understood the appeal of Clara Bow.

The Pieryznski dropped-third strike led to the White Sox winning Game 2 of the ALCS when they went on to win the World Series. And the Hrbek play was in the 1991 WS, one of the tightest WS ever.

And the first alternate suggestion offered, the Knoblauch-Offerman non-tag, was in the 1999 ALCS.

But other than those TD, you're right. ;)

The Meals call can't be the worst because he might have gotten it right.

Edit: Ok, wow, I was confused. I could have sworn that was the Twins vs. Cards in 1987.

You're right---Hrbek also did the "shove the runner off the bag and tag him out" play in that '87 series, against Tommy Herr. My recollection is that Herr was picked off first (or had broken for second before the pitch) and was scrambling back to first and Hrbek used his body to block/shove Herr, and then applied the tag. Egregious, obvious interference in a tight game during a tight 7-game series.

The worst call I know of (setting aside the importance of the game) was Harry Wendelstedt's refusal to award Dick Dietz first base after Drysdale hit him with a pitch with the bases loaded. This was in 1968 and Drysdale was 48 innings into his scoreless innings streak. The game was in Dodgers Stadium, and Wendelstedt, unforgiveably, let the streak affect his call.

Wendelstedt said later that Dietz hadn't made enough effort to avoid the pitch, but (a) this was Don Freakin' Drysdale, who hit batters all the time; (b) that call was never made (though I've seen it a few times since); and (c) players of that era like Ron Hunt notoriously stepped into pitches all the time in order to get on base (not that Dietz did that, just that the hypocrisy of Wendelstedt's explanation was so glaring).

The Orioles won Game Two of the series when the Oriole scored three runs off of Jeff Nelson, who was pitching in the seventh and eighth -- which was normally when Mariano Rivera pitched. But Rivera threw 44 pitches in Game One, after coming in in the 10th, and was unavailable for Game Two.

If Jeter's ball is called an out, the Yankees win Game Two, the O's lose in 5.

This line of reasoning is better than the assumption that if the Orioles had won Game One, they would have still won Game Two and not lost all three games at home, because if the rest of the series had played out the same (since we're assuming Game Two plays out the same in favor of Baltimore), the O's go back to Yankee Stadium down 3-2 in the series.

The worst call I know of (setting aside the importance of the game) was Harry Wendelstedt's refusal to award Dick Dietz first base after Drysdale hit him with a pitch with the bases loaded. This was in 1968 and Drysdale was 48 innings into his scoreless innings streak. The game was in Dodgers Stadium, and Wendelstedt, unforgiveably, let the streak affect his call.

Wendelstedt said later that Dietz hadn't made enough effort to avoid the pitch, but (a) this was Don Freakin' Drysdale, who hit batters all the time; (b) that call was never made (though I've seen it a few times since); and (c) players of that era like Ron Hunt notoriously stepped into pitches all the time in order to get on base (not that Dietz did that, just that the hypocrisy of Wendelstedt's explanation was so glaring).

But it was a proper call. The rule doesn't say "unless nobody ever calls it". Just because everyone else was making the wrong call doesn't make this call wrong.

The Orioles won Game Two of the series when the Oriole scored three runs off of Jeff Nelson, who was pitching in the seventh and eighth -- which was normally when Mariano Rivera pitched. But Rivera threw 44 pitches in Game One, after coming in in the 10th, and was unavailable for Game Two.

If Jeter's ball is called an out, the Yankees win Game Two, the O's lose in 5.

This line of reasoning is better than the assumption that if the Orioles had won Game One, they would have still won Game Two and not lost all three games at home, because if the rest of the series had played out the same (since we're assuming Game Two plays out the same in favor of Baltimore), the O's go back to Yankee Stadium down 3-2 in the series.

It doesn't work like that.

The five worst calls in baseball history were all made by Eric Gregg during Livan Hernandez' 15K game in 1997.

It may have been the worst 50.

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robinson getting called safe at home in the 1955 series eats at every yankee fan i know of my generation since whenever yogi is interviewed he insists robinson was out

I'm a Yankee fan, I watched that game, and if anyone cares to look at the photos on pp. 16-17 of the SI issue that covered that World Series, he can clearly see that contrary to Yogi's opinion, Robinson was safe.

And of course the Yanks won that game, anyway, so even if Robby had been called out, it wouldn't have changed the outcome. It was a big stink about nothing.

Joaquin Andujar, relief pitcher. Now that was a bad call, Whitey.

Some men just like to watch the world burn.

*Photographs* confirmed it.

There was newsreel footage too, which I saw many years ago. I remember seeing Lou Boudreau jumping up and down, literally hopping mad at the call.

I love this "aftermath" of the Maier call, which assumes that Game 2 would then have transpired exactly as it did, while also assuming the next three games wouldn't have! You've gotta admire such original consistency.

The aftermath: The Yankees eventually won the series in five games and went on to capture their first of four World Series championships in a five-year span. But what would have happened if Garcia had made the correct call? The Orioles would have won the game and, after winning Game 2, would have held a 2-0 series advantage. The Yankees likely would lose the series, George Steinbrenner probably would fire Joe Torre, Benitez and not Mariano Rivera would turn into the greatest closer of all time and the whole Yankees dynasty never would materialize. Wow. As Andy Pettitte says in the video link above, "You gotta have luck."

And of course the Yankees would never, ever recover from a 2-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven. Why, just ask Sam Rickey and his buddy Mark Wohlers.

I also came here to mention the Hrbek/Gant play, but looking at it again, it doesn't seem as obviously horrible as I remember. From some angles, it seems at least reasonably consistent with Hrbek's contention, which is that he wasn't pulling, he was just keeping the tag on him, and Gant was falling over.

The ump is also interviewed in that video, and what he says seems at least vaguely reasonable to me: In order to be called safe, you not only have to be in contact with the base, you also have to be under control (I don't know if this is true or not, but it's what the ump says). He goes on to say that everybody looks at the feet on the replay, but if you look at the upper body, Gant was already falling over. Not in control.

I'm not saying it was definitely a good call; I'm just saying it looks to me a lot less obviously bad than I thought it was twenty years ago.