MLB umpiring changed after this blown call, a breakdown

It's 2005. It's the American League Championship Series. It's the Angels. It's the White Sox. It's game two. It's tied up in the bottom of the ninth. It's strike one and then a curveball. It's out number one. This breakdown is brought to you by DraftKings and it was also suggested by Kevin Lefkowitz in our comments. So thank you to Kevin and this play changed a lot. They had to make some changes in the umpires handbook after this one because it's kind of crazy and ridiculous. So we've got one out now in the bottom of the ninth. No one on next batter comes up to seem just poured over the middle for strike one drops the curve off of that for ball and then back to the to seem strike to then with the nasty splitter. What a sequence nasty pitching from Escobar. Let's watch it again. Watch the overlay of the fastball and the splitter one just absolutely vanishes down and the other stayed up for a strike. Now here comes the big at-bat AJ Perzinski's up. He's the last out of the inning. It's a tie game first pitch. I think that might have been that sinker and that looks like the sinker as well away curveball away. All right, they put the score book up to one foul back two and two that's away. They're working away the entire at-bat. He's going to take a walk. He's going to take a hack. He's going to think about it. What are they going to throw me now? Now this lady in the crowd. She's nervous and she's doing lots of hand stuff. She's got the fingers interwoven and then she's going to rub them twist them squeeze squeeze rub rub rub. The eyes are intense. If you haven't noticed the eyes the eyes are very intense during the whole hand thing procedure rub rub twist twist next pitch swing and miss strike three rings them up. They start walking off the field Perzinski starts running the first base Escobar's like what you said out every infielder is like no dude. You said out like you said out we all saw it. You can't be dropped third strike and he gets to go to first if you've never watched baseball before thanks for tuning in if the catcher does not catch the ball cleanly on the third strike. It's called a drop third strike because a strikeout is a put out and when you throw someone out at first base in the first baseman drops it even though the ball beat the runner there. It's not a put out. That's kind of thinking about it. Anyway, this all man. She's all stressed. The hands are in there. The eyes are darting what happened and we're going to get umpire Doug Eddings immediately defending himself and he's going to start saying no. That's just my mechanic. I didn't call him out and social the manager's like hey, hey Doug Doug you called him out. You went like that. That's my mechanic Mike. I didn't call him out. That's my that's my mechanic. No way Mike Mike Mike hold up. Oh, oh just listen to me. Okay, and he's listening and he's tuned in. He's focused. The eyes are locked in. This is what you're telling me. What what dude? What do you that? What now? Let's watch. So it's a swing. He puts his right arm out the signal swing and then he drops the hammer right there and that everyone assumes means batters out. He's saying that's just concluding that it's a swinging strike and it didn't mean he called him out. So here we go. Let's take a look at the mechanic again. The right arm goes out and then bang so the Angels see that and they say that means he's out but he didn't verbally say now. This is what Doug Eddings had to say after the game. My interpretation is that's my strike three mechanic when it's a swinging strike. If you watch that's what I do the whole entire game adding instead of his third strike routine the sweep of the right hand then the clench fist. He said it's never been an issue until now. So let's go back. If you watch that's what I do the entire game, but Doug the at-bat before ended on the same thing and that's not what you did. You threw the right arm out and then you waited very intently until the tag was made to say batters out. So feel like you lied 21 years ago the very at-bat before we don't need to watch the whole game. We just need to go watch the very at-bat before when you didn't do that. So that's bad. That's bad. And this is the right mechanic but according to the umpires before this it was wishy-washy and after this it's this is what you do. You throw the right arm out and you wait until the tag is made if it's an obvious drop third strike if you think that there's a chance of a drop third strike. This is what you do. It's not what he did and he's saying that he always does the other way, but he didn't clearly now did the ball hit the ground. Well after the game using what Riker he was like the official in charge of supervising the officials. He said they used some technology the six-man umpiring crew viewed the replay and determine the ball had actually hit the dirt. We saw a couple different angles and if you watch it the ball changes direction. Let's take a look at the angles. This is super zoomed in and slow-mo and in my opinion that angle shows it not hitting the ground. It shows it hitting in the glove and the glove is on the ground and then the other end of the glove touches ground and it kind of stays elevated in the glove very hard. I'm not I don't know if that's enough to overturn it if that's what they had initially called it, but very hard now the catcher he's got my favorite quote. I caught the ball. It was strike three. He was out. It's not my fault. I take no responsibility for that whatsoever. That's you know, stand firm. I caught the ball. Should he have tagged him? Who knows? Now that angle is the other angle. They're probably talking about where there's a little movement because you see the glove kind of twitch a little but you got to he didn't call it right away. He's saying that's his mechanic. Now. The other thing I read was after this incident. They changed the umpiring philosophy to like no mistakes where now the umpires can all huddle. It's the get the call right philosophy unbelievable. They said instead of hiding behind mechanics and other stuff all the umpires get together and just get the call right and that didn't happen a lot before this now presents game. How did he know to take off? Well, his quotes are I didn't hear me call him out. So I thought I thought for sure the ball hit the ground. I watched the replay 50 times and I still don't know in another interview. Jerry Reinsdorf was getting asked about this and he said he asked presents. He how'd you know to run and presents? He said the year before when he was in San Francisco. He was on the other end of a play similar to this. I found that play. It's even crazier. The ball is clearly caught and Bronson Arroyo walks off like takes himself out of the game, but the umpire never said out. He's got a bat in his hand instead of going to the dugout during the mound visit. He just ran to first base and they said safe that's we can't get into it. How's baseline? I have no idea. How did this affect the game? If you don't remember the 2005 American League Championship Series? Well, Brzezinski got replaced by a pinch runner again. We're bottom of the ninth inning in a tie game. Doug Eddings behind the plate blinking away hoping don't watch the pitch before don't watch the outback for pinch runner immediately steal second base. So now Brzezinski the drop third strike becomes the go-ahead runner in scoring position. The next batter hits a double off the wall and the pinch runner rounds third touches home and is the winning run. So how did it affect the game? Tremendously about as much as you could affect a game that call affected the game and I don't think he feels great about it, but he stood firm in the postgame that that was his mechanic. Watch the whole game. Just don't watch the end and now she's happy. Oh is the thumb the thumb a little biting of the thumb twisting active hands active hands, but she's excited. Did Doug Eddings lie? Sure seems like it or did he misremember? That's for the no one to the side. This was 20 years ago. It was brought to you by DraftKings. Thank you to DraftKings and thank you to my guy Kevin for suggesting it. We got more coming. We got a queue of old breakdowns that you guys have been requesting. Hopefully we can get to them and WBC starting soon. So that's exciting. Goodbye.