Jeff McNeil honestly might have a point here.
On Wednesday night, with a man on second, the New York Mets infielder was holding the runner on before Adam Ottavino threw to Giancarlo Stanton in the team’s eventual extra-innings victory over the New York Yankees.
But home plate umpire Bill Miller stopped play and issued a ball to Ottavino because McNeil was guilty of a shift violation.
You can see it in the screengrab above — BEFORE the ball leaves Ottavino’s hand, McNeil gets to the left side of second base. But he was definitely over the invisible line that cuts the infield in half … but, again, that was BEFORE the pitch. The language is about “the time” of the pitch, which probably needs some clarifying.
That was his point, per the New York Post: “From what I just read of the rule, it was not a violation. It’s when the pitcher releases the ball, I need to be on my side of second base, which I was. It’s a little frustrating because what I was doing was not a violation.”
He also called it “ticky-tack.”
Judge for yourself:
Jeff McNeil was called for a shift violation because the umpire determined that he was to the right of second base. A ball was awarded to the hitter pic.twitter.com/V0Xz7Oy08U
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 15, 2023
Official shift restriction per MLB says infielders must be “aligned properly at the time of the pitch.”
Jeff McNeil was back on the correct side of second base before Adam Ottavino threw the pitch. pic.twitter.com/BQFaBcpLGG
— James Schiano (@James_Schiano) June 15, 2023