Carlos Santana — not Mark Reynolds — is now the Cleveland Indians’ leader in home runs (18) after a dinger off the right-field foul pole last night. The homer was initially ruled a foul ball but overturned after replay footage clearly showed the ball ricocheting off the pole into the seats. (Here’s the video from MLB.com.)
And thank goodness. Santana’s solo homer lifted the Tribe to a 4-1 lead and became the difference-maker when Kansas City’s Alex Gordon blasted a two-run shot in the eighth. Shortly thereafter, Chris Perez saved the game — in the strictest statistical terms — in trademark tumultuous fashion.
In the video above, do check out roughly 1:08 – 1:13. KC first baseman Eric Hosmer gets acquainted with Progressive Field’s infamous bugs. (And check out the linked article only if you intend to fall in love with Fausto Carmona and Ryan Garko all over again).
This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2013.
How exactly is this controversial? MLB rules indicate that if a ball hits the foul pole it’s considered fair, not foul. The ball clearly hit the pole, so it’s really pretty clear and not at all contentious.
Yeah, the end of last night’s game was sure a nail-biter. But hey, a closer’s job is results-only, it doesn’t matter how you get it done as long as you get it done.