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ATLANTA — With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning of Friday's Wild Card Game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, chaos enveloped Turner Field.
Braves fans, incensed at the umpires' decision to rule Andrelton Simmons' pop-up an infield fly (and, thus, an out), threw just about everything they could get their hands on onto the field to show their displeasure. The Cardinals gathered in shallow center field to avoid the debris, and the Braves gathered near second base before both teams headed into the dugout while the grounds crew cleaned up the debris.
Here’s the situation: The Braves trailed by 6-3—that turned out to be the final score—with two on and one out. Simmons hit a two-strike pitch from Mitchell Boggs into shallow left field. It should have been a relatively easy catch for left fielder Matt Holliday, but he gave way to shortstop Pete Kozma, who appeared to be calling for the ball. But Kozma suddenly veered off, and the ball fell to the turf.
The crowd exploded, thinking the Braves had the bases loaded in a win-or-go-home contest. But Sam Holbrook, positioned along the left-field line, had raised his hand to indicate that the infield fly rule was in effect.
“It’s all judged on what the fielder does,” Holbrook said. “Once that fielder (Kozma) establishes himself that he’s got ordinary effort on the ball, that’s when the call is made. It wouldn’t matter whether I was at third base or on the line out there. It’s all based on what the fielder does, and that’s what I went on. That’s what I read.”
The call is left to the umpire’s discretion. What made it unusual was how far out into the outfield Kozma wound up, a fact that wasn’t missed by the Braves.
“I haven't seen one called where the guy wasn't camped,” Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said. “You know, normally when you're that far out, nobody's camped. But I saw the rule where it doesn't necessarily have to be an infielder, it could be an outfielder who comes in and ultimately makes the play. But you really don't see any clear indication that one of the two was camped.”
The 52,631 fans in attendance didn’t realize the call had been made until Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez charged out of the dugout and argued vehemently with the umpires. And when Simmons was told to head from his spot at first base to the dugout, the fans erupted.
That’s when debris began raining down on the field. The game was delayed 19 minutes while the grounds crew cleaned up the bottles, cans and other assorted pieces of debris that lined the field.
“I think we have very passionate fans here in Atlanta, and I think I'm a little disappointed with the reaction of throwing bottles and beer cans and you name it,” Gonzalez said. “For me, that's uncalled for. I think we, as fans, and I understand. I understand the disappointment. But we can't do that. As Atlanta Braves and people from Georgia, it doesn't look good, and I'm a little disappointed in our fans from that point. You get people injured out there, then it's scary. It really is when you're standing out there, whether you're a St. Louis Cardinal, an Atlanta Brave or an umpire, and you have these things coming at you, it's a scary moment.”
The club also issued a formal apology.
"The atlanta braves have a strong and loyal fan base and a small group of those fans acted in a manner that was uncharacteristic and unacceptable. The actions of those fans are not representative of the Atlanta Braves or Major League Baseball. We apologize to the St. Louis Cardinals and to Major League Baseball," team president John Schuerholz said.
The Braves officially protested the game.
Typically, a team has a 24-hour window to file an official protest. But with the unique, cramped schedule, there was no time for that. By the end of the game, Joe Torre, the executive vice president of baseball operations for Major League Baseball, had officially denied the Braves’ appeal.
“It’s unusual circumstances, as far as the one-game playoff,” Torre said. “… I spoke to (Fredi Gonzalez and general manager Frank Wren) after the game and asked them what the protest was about, and I ruled, basically, to disallow the protest based on the fact that it was an umpire’s judgment call.”
Shortly after that, the Braves dropped their protest.
St. Louis will face the Washington Nationals in the first game of a best-of-five NL Division Series on Sunday in St. Louis.
Braves fans, incensed at the umpires' decision to rule Andrelton Simmons' pop-up an infield fly (and, thus, an out), threw just about everything they could get their hands on onto the field to show their displeasure. The Cardinals gathered in shallow center field to avoid the debris, and the Braves gathered near second base before both teams headed into the dugout while the grounds crew cleaned up the debris.
Here’s the situation: The Braves trailed by 6-3—that turned out to be the final score—with two on and one out. Simmons hit a two-strike pitch from Mitchell Boggs into shallow left field. It should have been a relatively easy catch for left fielder Matt Holliday, but he gave way to shortstop Pete Kozma, who appeared to be calling for the ball. But Kozma suddenly veered off, and the ball fell to the turf.
The crowd exploded, thinking the Braves had the bases loaded in a win-or-go-home contest. But Sam Holbrook, positioned along the left-field line, had raised his hand to indicate that the infield fly rule was in effect.
“It’s all judged on what the fielder does,” Holbrook said. “Once that fielder (Kozma) establishes himself that he’s got ordinary effort on the ball, that’s when the call is made. It wouldn’t matter whether I was at third base or on the line out there. It’s all based on what the fielder does, and that’s what I went on. That’s what I read.”
The call is left to the umpire’s discretion. What made it unusual was how far out into the outfield Kozma wound up, a fact that wasn’t missed by the Braves.
“I haven't seen one called where the guy wasn't camped,” Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said. “You know, normally when you're that far out, nobody's camped. But I saw the rule where it doesn't necessarily have to be an infielder, it could be an outfielder who comes in and ultimately makes the play. But you really don't see any clear indication that one of the two was camped.”
The 52,631 fans in attendance didn’t realize the call had been made until Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez charged out of the dugout and argued vehemently with the umpires. And when Simmons was told to head from his spot at first base to the dugout, the fans erupted.
That’s when debris began raining down on the field. The game was delayed 19 minutes while the grounds crew cleaned up the bottles, cans and other assorted pieces of debris that lined the field.
“I think we have very passionate fans here in Atlanta, and I think I'm a little disappointed with the reaction of throwing bottles and beer cans and you name it,” Gonzalez said. “For me, that's uncalled for. I think we, as fans, and I understand. I understand the disappointment. But we can't do that. As Atlanta Braves and people from Georgia, it doesn't look good, and I'm a little disappointed in our fans from that point. You get people injured out there, then it's scary. It really is when you're standing out there, whether you're a St. Louis Cardinal, an Atlanta Brave or an umpire, and you have these things coming at you, it's a scary moment.”
The club also issued a formal apology.
"The atlanta braves have a strong and loyal fan base and a small group of those fans acted in a manner that was uncharacteristic and unacceptable. The actions of those fans are not representative of the Atlanta Braves or Major League Baseball. We apologize to the St. Louis Cardinals and to Major League Baseball," team president John Schuerholz said.
The Braves officially protested the game.
Typically, a team has a 24-hour window to file an official protest. But with the unique, cramped schedule, there was no time for that. By the end of the game, Joe Torre, the executive vice president of baseball operations for Major League Baseball, had officially denied the Braves’ appeal.
“It’s unusual circumstances, as far as the one-game playoff,” Torre said. “… I spoke to (Fredi Gonzalez and general manager Frank Wren) after the game and asked them what the protest was about, and I ruled, basically, to disallow the protest based on the fact that it was an umpire’s judgment call.”
Shortly after that, the Braves dropped their protest.
St. Louis will face the Washington Nationals in the first game of a best-of-five NL Division Series on Sunday in St. Louis.
