E-umpire thwarts Rays

A balk call that the ump admits was a mistake sets up the winner in a 10-inning loss.

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 13, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- The call was wrong.

Roberto Hernandez said it at the time. Larry Rothschild argued vehemently in the ensuing minutes. And, after watching a post-game replay, umpire Rick Reed admitted it.

The Devil Rays lost Saturday, 5-4 to the White Sox, because of a balk that shouldn't have been called.

"I made a mistake," Reed said. "It's hard for me to admit that. I don't like to be involved in the scoring of the game and I don't want to be involved in the outcome of the game. Unfortunately, today I was."

Tenth inning, no outs, Magglio Ordonez on second after a single and a passed ball. Hernandez missed the sign from catcher Mike DiFelice and casually twirled his right wrist, as he does virtually every time in that situation, indicating for the signs to be repeated.

But as soon as he moved his hand, Reed, the second-base umpire, called the balk, the first on Hernandez in his 563-game career. That sent Ordonez to third, and he scored two batters later when Carlos Lee hit a sacrifice fly.

"Roberto said he was asking for a new sign; Larry's complaint was the same," Reed said. "I saw his hand go up and when his hand went up ... that's when I attributed it as starting his motion. However, on the replay, it showed exactly what he was doing was going for another sign."

Hernandez didn't find much solace in Reed's admission.

"You're damn right he f------ blew it," Hernandez said as he left the clubhouse. "What good does that do me? We got stuck with an L."

[Times photo - Michael Rondou] Rays closer Roberto Hernandez stares incredulously after being called for a 10th-inning balk, the first of his career.

Basically, Reed's initial ruling was that Hernandez was attempting to deceive the runner by raising his hand. No matter that the movement was slight, or that his glove was resting against his body.

Because it was a judgment call, Rothschild said he couldn't protest. All he could do was stew.

"He said he moved to deceive the runner, and that's not true," Rothschild said. "It's very simple. You can watch the replay. All he did was ask for the next sign, which I've seen him do as long as I've ever seen him, and I've seen other pitchers do it, and I've never seen it called. I do not understand the call. I don't understand the timing of it, nor the call."

Hernandez figures he makes that move 20 times a season, which made the call all the more shocking.

"This is probably the toughest call I've had to swallow in my career," he said. "I could understand if I did it. But to give a team a run like that without even earning it, that's kind of horses---."

As pivotal as Reed's blown call was, it wasn't the singularly decisive moment in the game, played in old-style uniforms before an energetic announced crowd of 27,538.

The White Sox, who have the best record in the American League, built an early lead by hitting the ball hard off Rays starter Bryan Rekar, twice literally. They were up 2-0 after two and 4-1 after three, Aubrey Huff's two-out homer in the second accounting for the Tampa Bay run.

Slowly, the Rays came back. Greg Vaughn homered leading off the fourth, his fifth in nine games, and Huff drove in Steve Cox to make to 4-3 in the seventh.

Cory Lidle held the Sox down for 31/3 innings, and Esteban Yan struck out Harold Baines and Charles Johnson to stop a Chicago rally in the eighth, giving the Rays the chance to tie.

Vaughn drew a two-out walk from Bobby Howry, went to second when Kelly Wunsch walked Fred McGriff and scored when Jose Guillen singled hard off the shoulder of former Devil Ray Herbert Perry at third.

Ordonez, 5-for-8 in the series, opened the 10th with a single to left. Hernandez's first pitch to Paul Konerko was a strike, but it inexplicably went off DiFelice's glove, allowing Ordonez to advance to second, setting up Reed's mistaken call.

"That should never have happened," DiFelice said. "The guy should never have been on second. You can't miss a strike, I took my eye off the ball, the ball got away and the guy got to second base. That's the bottom line."

The balk call put Ordonez on third with no outs and left the Rays in trouble. Hernandez got Konerko on a groundout, but Lee lofted a fly deep enough to left.

"They're a good team," Hernandez said. "I don't think they need that kind of help."

The Rays didn't have much of a chance in their 10th. Vaughn singled off Keith Foulke with one out but was doubled off when Ray Durham snagged McGriff's liner and threw back to first.

"I don't think the call at the end of the game was right, either," Rothschild said. "There's nothing I can do at the end of the game, but (first baseman Konerko) did not have his foot on the base. You can watch the replay of that and see the same thing."

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