With a 6-3 lead in the eighth inning, the Marlins and Richard Bleier were set to close out a nice win on the road against the Mets (-1.5) on Tuesday night. Evidently, no one told Bleier or the Marlins that they would run into some extremely mystifying balk issues.
You see, when New York’s Pete Alonso tried to ignite a late rally, first base umpire John Tumpane called Bleier for a balk. Okay, sure. It happens. Then he called him for another balk. Uh, alright? But if Bleier broke the rule, he broke the rule, I guess. Then Tumpane called the pitcher for another balk. In one at-bat.
Okay, alright. Let’s slow down. What happened in this confusing scene at Citi Field?
Bleier, who has never been called for a balk in his career, has been called for two in less than an inning pic.twitter.com/2IAI2rPQME
— Shea Station (@shea_station) September 28, 2022
I’ve never seen someone balk three times in an inning. Wow. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/9aAcmesgW0
— GENY Mets Report (@genymets) September 28, 2022
You know an umpire’s call is weird (and probably a little out of bounds) if even the TV broadcasters are stumped as to what constitutes calling a balk three times out of the blue. (Note: Marlins manager Don Mattingly would be ejected for arguing the rulings.)
For reference, the MLB rule defines balks like this:
A balk occurs when a pitcher makes an illegal motion on the mound that the umpire deems to be deceitful to the runner(s).
I mean, there was one guy on base (who would eventually score thanks to all the balks) for Bleier. Do we really believe he made an egregious illegal motion three times in an inning? You know, three more than he’s ever been called for balks in his entire career?
Yeah, this was the definition of an umpire probably taking way too many liberties with a clearly defined but very subjective rule in practice. For what it’s worth, the Marlins went on to win 6-4. But I still fully understand why Bleier was so upset.