Cardinals Advance to NLDS Under Controversial Infield Fly Call

Earlier today were the first One Game Wildcard Playoffs in MLB history. Winner goes on to the traditional Division Series and the losers goes home. In the case of the game in Atlanta, perhaps the wrong team moved on.

The first game featured the Cardinals taking on the Braves. This game, however, would not be remembered to be the first one in this format but rather for a controversial call. In the bottom of the 8th inning with 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd, Andrelton Simmons popped the ball between two fielders in the outfield and it dropped due to the fielders getting mixed up on who was to catch it. Simmons, however, was called out with left-field umpire Sam Holbrook calling the infield fly rule despite the fact the play was more than 50 ft away from the infield.

When Braves fans realized what had happened, they started to throw everything they had and then some onto the field to show their displeasure. The game was halted for 19 minutes as a result and Braves Manager Fredi Gonzalez managed the rest of the game under protest which was denied afterward. Two batters later, Michael Bourn struck out swinging leaving the bases loaded. The Braves didn't get any runs in the inning being down by three. The bottom of the 9th came and went with Chipper Jones getting an infield single in his last AB of his career and then two batters latter Dan Uggla grounding out to 2nd to end the game. The Cardinals win it 6-3 and go on to face the Nationals in the NLDS.

The replacement refs in football make a glaring mistake and the umps in baseball have to catch up?

Now certainly the rule is confusing and it seems like umpire Halbrook made a few mistakes: he didn't call it early, it didn't seem like ordinary effort, and it certainly didn't look like an infield fly ball of any kind. It was 225 ft from home plate for crying out loud. It was a bad call and the game certainly could've gone differently and Chipper Jones career might not be over.

A bad call haunts baseball and the postseason once more but it's worse this time around. This is a one game playoff where a mistake like this is even more harmful because there are less chances for either side to make up for the mistake. This is a black eye to baseball as it points out it's officiating weaknesses once more and perhaps a flaw in the  One Game Playoff format.