Upon further review, the Braves wished they’d asked for a review.
Freddie Freeman and Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez both said after Monday’s 1-0 loss to the Red Sox that they should’ve challenged an out call in the seventh inning, when Freeman was running from first base and was forced out at second on a fielder’s choice grounder.
Replays showed an extremely close play and indicated that Freeman might’ve been safe, in which case the Braves would’ve had bases loaded with one out, trailing 1-0. Instead, they didn’t challenge the call, so there were two outs and runners on the corners, and pinch-hitter Erick Aybar struck out to end the inning.
“I’ve got the worst seat in the house,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, who relied as usual on a call to the team’s video coordinator, Rob Smith, who quickly watched the play on video in the clubhouse to let the manager know if he should challenge the call. “We talked it through with our people and they said, no, don’t challenge.
“Freeman came off the base saying he was out; even he can’t tell. For players it’s hard to tell. In retrospect, coming in here and watching the video (later), we should have challenged.”
Freeman agreed.
“Since I’ve seen the replay, I was safe,” Freeman said after the game. “But it’s just one of those things that, as you can see in the ninth inning, MLB has a tough time in New York, because I definitely got hit by that pitch.”
Freeman referred to his at-bat with two out in the ninth inning, when he thought he was hit by a Craig Kimbrel pitch. Freeman made his way to first base before realizing that umpire Mark Ripperger ruled that the ball didn’t hit him.
The Braves challenged the call and it was upheld. Freeman returned to the batter’s box and struck out to end the game.
“Obviously they’re seeing some things differently in New York and won’t overturn calls as easily as they should be,” Freeman said, referring to the umpires at the New York video center who watch the replay. “So it’s tough to challenge anything these days with what’s going on with the replay system.”
