Add The New York Post on Google Pete Crow-Armstrong couldn’t hold back any longer.
A frustrating series in the desert against the Diamondbacks hit its boiling point when somehow an obvious balk in response to his actions at third base went unnoticed by the umpires.
The NL MVP favorite, scuffling in the series, suddenly lost his cool, having to be restrained by third base coach Quintin Berry while he questioned the umpires after their incorrect ruling that they later admitted.
“I saw four umpires miss a pretty obvious play,” Crow-Armstrong said after the 2-0 loss Wednesday. “They’re out there every day, just like we are. Their one job is to get calls right. And if they get it wrong, they’re supposed to talk about it, figure it out and get it right. And they didn’t.”
While the casual baseball fan may need a rewind or two to notice a balk, Crow-Armstrong had a right to be furious with the umpires missing a blatant violation Wednesday that ultimately affected the game.
Crow-Armstrong danced off third base with two outs in the top of the sixth in a scoreless game, resulting in Eduardo Rodriguez throwing an awkward pitchout in which he stopped his motion.
The Cubs’ center fielder should have been awarded home and plated the game’s first run, but the umpires did not make any call on the field.
Crow-Armstrong held his hands out out in a stunned manner after returning to the bag, immediately turning to question third base umpire Malachi Moore.
The umpires conferred and ultimately opted not to call a balk, which is not a reviewable play, and that decision left Crow-Armstrong fuming.
He immediately went back at Moore while Berry restrained him.
Rodriguez benefited from that free pass and ultimately stranded two in the inning en route to seven masterful shutout innings.
“That’s not to take away from what Eduardo was doing to us today because he was All-Star Eduardo Rodriguez. He was nails. When a guy is shoving it down your throat — pause — you got to find any way you can to make something happen and that’s exactly what I was trying to do, and I executed,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It would have been nice if the umpires did the same.
“I get it from Alfonso (Marquez)’s point of view at home plate, tough to see with two people standing in front of you and all you’re trying to do is call the right pitch. But I don’t know how you miss somebody starting their motion and then stopping it and stepping off. I just don’t know, so you’ll have to talk to them.”
Marquez later told reporters that “we just didn’t see it,” and admitted that “it looked like he stepped off,” according to MLB.com.
That non-call loomed large when Jordan Lawlar homered to lead off the seventh inning, and the Diamondbacks ultimately took the rubber game of the series.
Crow-Armstrong, who is favored to end Shohei Ohtani’s three-year stretch as MVP, took some accountability for letting his emotions get the best of him.
He went just 1-for-12 in the series, including a 1-for-4 day with three strikeouts Wednesday.
But he made it clear that the umpires shouldn’t be granted a free pass.
“If I’m going to sit here and b—h about this stuff, I should have done better today. Shouldn’t have punched out three times, should have had better at-bats all series, I was pretty non-existent so I think you guys saw my frustrations from the last three days kind of come out and I’m going to stick by it and say rightfully so,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I didn’t appreciate the other umpire coming up to me after (Berry) had calmed the situation down. I think they find new ways to screw something up every day. So, there you go.”
He added: “It doesn’t make me feel any better that they admitted the missed the call. They had as much time as they wanted to talk about it on the field. They should have admitted that right after they got it wrong.”
