As Yankees Roll, a Homer for the Replay Record Books

By TYLER KEPNER
Published: September 3, 2008

Yankees 8, Rays 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Alex Rodriguez lost a home run in May because of an umpire’s blown call, and soon baseball began to explore instant replay seriously. The system was put in last week across the majors, and the first test came Wednesday night at Tropicana Field — on another long drive by Rodriguez.

“There are 800 players in the big leagues, so what are the odds that I’d be involved in this, 2 to 1?” Rodriguez said. “How do I get myself into this?”

This blast, off Tampa Bay’s Troy Percival in the ninth inning, soared down the left-field line, carrying over the foul pole and crashing into a catwalk. Rodriguez stood at the plate and curled his neck to watch the ball’s flight, then clapped his hands and trotted as the third-base umpire, Brian Runge, signaled fair.

Rays catcher Dioner Navarro protested, and Manager Joe Maddon conferred with umpires for a minute. The crew left the field through the Yankees’ dugout, retreating to the umpires’ locker room and emerging after 2 minutes 15 seconds with the verdict: home run.

It was the 549th of Rodriguez’s career, pushing him past Mike Schmidt on the career list and punctuating an 8-4 victory, the Yankees’ third win in three games this month. Rodriguez was 3 for 4 with four runs batted in, narrowing his focus after a dismal August.

“We’re playing like every game’s our last,” Rodriguez said in the clubhouse before batting practice. “Every game is the most important game. We can’t control what anybody else does. I don’t even watch. All I care about is our team doing the best we can.”

For the third game in a row, the Yankees met that goal, hitting in the clutch and getting stingy relief pitching from Edwar Ramírez, Phil Coke, Brian Bruney and José Veras after Carl Pavano’s four innings.

With a 10-game hole in the American League East, the Yankees may not have time to catch Tampa Bay. They trail Boston by seven in the wild-card race, but the Yankees are doing their best to make September matter.

“The important thing is we’re winning,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “And when you’re winning, you’re usually gaining on somebody.”

Rodriguez is 8 for 13 in three games this week, with nine runs batted in. He singled in two runs in the middle innings Wednesday before his disputed homer.

Part of the confusion was because of a yellow marker sticking up from the catwalk behind the foul pole. Rodriguez’s homer crossed the foul pole in fair territory, making it a home run. But it tailed and hit the catwalk to the foul side of the unofficial yellow marker.

Maddon said he did not know if the ball was fair, so he followed the lead of his catcher, Navarro.

“Navi was adamant it was foul,” Maddon said. “I just said, ‘That ball was high, and the pole’s not high enough.’ ”

The crew chief, Charlie Reliford, said: “Since the technology is in place, we made the decision to use the technology and go look at the replays. And the replays we reviewed were conclusive that the call we made was correct.”

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman was watching from a suite to the third-base side of the plate, and he could not tell if the ball was fair. But Cashman said he was pleased that the system worked.

“I think, ultimately, it gives everybody closure to believe that whatever call gets made is going to be the right call,” Cashman said. “That’s what the umpires want, that’s what both teams want, that’s what the fans want.”

That is what Cashman has wanted since Game 1 of the 1996 A.L. Championship Series, when the Yankees won with the help of a fan, Jeffrey Maier, who deflected a deep fly by Derek Jeter into the stands for a home run.

It was a pivotal moment that helped start a dynasty, but it should not have been a home run. Cashman has always felt conflicted about that play, because it was so unfair to the Baltimore Orioles.

“We would have had to go to Baltimore down, 2-0, having to play three in Camden Yards,” Cashman said. “You’re like, ‘How unfortunate is that circumstance?’ I’m happy we won and all that stuff, but when you step back, everybody wants it to be accurate. It’s high-stakes poker, whether it’s a game in June or October.”

For years, Cashman voted for instant replay at the general managers’ meetings, but only last November did the majority agree. A series of missed calls in May — including a Rodriguez drive that struck a staircase at Yankee Stadium and caromed back onto the field — prompted the implementation.

“They got the call right, and that’s the most important thing,” Girardi said. “The process worked.”

News source：http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/sports/baseball/04yankees.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin