San Francisco Giants: Watch Umpire Alfonso Marquez Blow Two Crucial Calls
By Eric He
May 25, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy (15) is ejected from the game by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez (72) in the bottom of the eight inning against the Colorado Rockies at AT
It’s never a good idea when you know an umpire’s name.
Alfonso Marquez should be glad that the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies on Saturday afternoon, or he would have been pummeled by Giants fans, the media, and anyone else who saw his ridiculous blown calls.
Blown Call No. 1:
Situation: Bottom of the 7th, runners on second and third with one out.
The Giants had just rallied from a 4-0 deficit to the tie the game at 4-4, and Brandon Crawford had an opportunity to knock home Brandon Belt from third and give them the lead.
He did just that, hitting the ball on the ground to the right side. Belt broke for the plate immediately, and slid in before the tag was applied.
However, that’s not how Marquez saw it:
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Belt argued, the crowd booed, and even the Rockies’ announcers agreed that he was safe, but the call was made and it was unfortunately the wrong one.
Blown Call No. 2
Situation: Bottom of the 8th, runner on first with one out.
With the game tied 4-4, Pablo Sandoval dumped a blooper into left-center field. Marco Scutaro, the runner on first, rounded second and slid into third, avoiding the tag applied by the third baseman.
Once again, however, Marquez was there to ruin the day:
“This is unbelievable what we’re seeing today,” yelled Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow.
Brutal. Just brutal.