On Friday night the Atlanta Braves played the St. Louis Cardinals in baseball's first ever one-game Wildcard playoff round.
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In the bottom of the 8th inning, with one out and two men on, the Braves were trailing the Cardinals 6-3 when Andrelton Simmons came to bat.
He hit a fly ball to left field. Cards shortstop Pete Kozma goes back for it, before letting it drop (thinking left fielder Matt Holliday had it).
That means the Braves have the bases loaded with one out, and the go-ahead run at the plate. Right? Dan Uggla thought so.
The Atlanta fans thought so.
Cards pitcher Mitchell Boggs thought so.
But wait... The umps rule that the infield fly rule was in effect! The batter's out! That means two outs, men on second and third, instead of one out, bases loaded.
The infield fly rule is in place to prevent an infielder from allowing a ball that could be caught with an "ordinary effort" to drop to allow an easier double play for the defense (runners hold at their base until a pop is caught).
This ball OBVIOUSLY required far more than an "ordinary effort" to catch. It was moderately deep into left field.
Braves manager Fredi González was pissed.
The fans were so pissed that they threw bottles onto the field.
Braves legend Chipper Jones looked on, disappointed. The Braves would go on to lose, making this Chipper's final game in the majors before his retirement.
The Braves would appeal the call, but their appeal was denied.
Watch the whole thing happen in video form:
View this video on YouTube
So how bad was the call?
