MLB tells Royals replay call was incorrect

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 30,000-plus umpires at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night were right after all.

Major League Baseball told Royals manager Ned Yost on Wednesday that it blew the replay call in the eighth inning of the Indians’ 2-1 victory in the series opener on Tuesday.

The Indians scored the go-ahead run in the eighth, but only after a review of a potential double play earlier in the frame was upheld.

The Indians’ Jose Ramirez was ruled safe, but a replay seemed to indicate he was out at first base. The umpires called the home office in New York for a closer look at the call, but after a review that lasted 2 minutes, 52 seconds, the call by umpire Joe Davidson was upheld.

“They admitted they missed the call, that they had a breakdown in their system and they deeply regretted it,” Yost said.

In a memo to the Royals, Major League Baseball called the error a “rare circumstance.”

“This is one of those rare circumstances in which the super slow motion view was delayed and the Replay Official reached a decision without the benefit of that information,” the memo read. “Earlier today we communicated with Ned Yost, and during the conversation we expressed our regret at this occurrence.”

But Yost said the blown call wasn’t the only problem for the Royals, who fell for the sixth time in seven games.

“There was enough blame to go around for everybody,” Yost said.

After the call, the Royals missed another double play opportunity when second baseman Omar Infante didn’t cleanly field a sharp grounder off the bat of Jason Kipnis. The Royals got the force out at second but the inning remained alive and Cleveland eventually broke a 1-1 tie.

The Royals bats continued their slumber, with the offense scoring one run for the fifth time in seven games, and in the second inning they couldn’t move Kendrys Morales around after his leadoff double and an Alex Gordon walk.

The Royals’ pitching staff was just as perturbed at a call in the fourth inning when the Indians’ Brandon Moss appeared to have checked his swing too late for what would have been strike three. But the call was no swing, and Moss ended the plate appearance with a home run.

Replays can’t be used to determine check swings, and the Royals were harmed by the replay rule. But Yost likes the system.

“I think it’s a great system,” Yost said. “There are going to be mistakes. It’s like a player. Omar makes that play 99 times out of 100. We get (Morales) on second and get two strikeouts and a pop up.

“Things happen, mistakes are made. But the system is great. I’m pleased with it. They made a mistake. Admit it, apologize for it and move on. That’s what I try to do when I make a mistake.”

This story was originally published June 3, 2015 at 8:25 PM with the headline "MLB tells Royals replay call was incorrect."