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Steve Davis: Check Swing-Strike Or No Strike

There's no doubt the play in the 8th inning was very costly. If the first base ump Mark Wegner calls it a strike, the inning is over and the Orioles turn the ball over to Britton with a lead; so, it probably means we're talking about an 8 game winning streak.

Instead, Wegner calls ball 3, the next two pitches end up in the seats and the O's lose 6-5.  Look, I think it was a strike.  However, the umpire is an untenable spot.  Think about it, what replay showed it was a strike. The one facing the batter from the camera well by the dugout? That is the angle that is conclusive.  The umpire doesn't have that vantage point. He has a terrible angle. We continue to light up the umps for blowing these calls (and they do,) but it's because they're not in the right position.

It generally isn't a huge deal because the next two pitches don't normally end up as home runs, costing a team the game.  The MLB, if they want to get this right, is going to have to make these calls challenge-able.

If they don't give a team additional challenges, it won't take any longer than any other play.  If they want to make it efficient, give each team the ability to challenge one check swing a game.  Don't call over the umps and bring the box out.  Just give a quick signal. New York can look at it with the one camera angle from the side and send a signal back ball or strike, and that's it.

Of course, you won't see too many examples this glaring because you don't see too many players hit the next pitch out to tie the game and the next one out to take the lead.

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