Not that it will do any good, but the Pirates have filed an official protest with MLB over the Jerry Meals call at the plate that ended last night’s 19-inning marathon loss to the Braves.
Team president Frank Coonelly also issued the following statement:The Pittsburgh Pirates organization is extremely disappointed by the way its 19-inning game against the Atlanta Braves ended earlier this morning. The game of baseball and this game in particular, filled with superlative performances by players on both clubs, deserved much better. We have filed a formal complaint with the Commissioner.
While we cannot begin to understand how Umpire Jerry Meals did not see the tag made by Michael McKenry three feet in front of home plate, we do not question the integrity of Mr. Meals. Instead, we know that Mr. Meals’ intention was to get the call right. Jerry Meals has been umpiring Major League games for 14 years and has always done so with integrity and professionalism. He got this one wrong.
For Pirates fans, we may have lost a game in the standings as a result of a missed call but this game, and the gutsy performances by so many of our players, will make us stronger, more unified and more determined as we continue the battle for the National League Central Division.Sounds about right. There’s no sense in publicly tearing apart Meals, since that will only lead to MLB potentially disciplining the Pirates anyway. Ultimately the whole thing is for naught, because as Calcaterra pointed out this morning judgment calls can’t be successfully protested.
