Mets lose to Cubs as Pete Alonso is called out on close play at the plate to end game
Pete Alonso #20 of the Mets is called out at the plate to end a game against the Chicago Cubs by umpire Charlie Ramos at Citi Field on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza fumed over a close, controversial ruling for the final out of a 1-0 loss to the Cubs on Wednesday night, insisting that umpires “got the wrong call” and that “it cost us the game,” the latest in a series of unfortunate events for his skidding club.
MLB’s Replay Center released a statement minutes after the game explaining that Chicago catcher Miguel Amaya’s positioning for the play at the plate, during which Pete Alonso was tagged out, was within the rules.
“They sent out a memo in spring training [about] what’s legal and what’s illegal,” Mendoza said. “It’s clear, in that email, that memo that we got, that catchers are not allowed to have their foot in front of the plate, on top of the plate — they cannot straddle — without possession of the baseball. It was very clear that the guy had his left foot on top of the plate without the baseball.”
The Replay Center’s statement read in part: “The catcher's initial setup was legal and he moved into the lane in reaction to the trajectory of the incoming throw.”
The Mets had the potential tying run at third base and the winning run at second base as Jeff McNeil batted against Chicago’s Hector Neris with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
McNeil lofted a fly ball to leftfield, where Ian Happ made the routine catch. He fired to third baseman Nick Madrigal, whose relay throw home did not seem — in the moment — to beat Alonso.
But plate umpire Charlie Ramos called Alonso out, triggering Mendoza to shoot out of the dugout instantly asking for a replay review.
For four minutes, both teams milled about, watching along with fans as Citi Field’s massive video board displayed a bunch of replays from various angles. It was an awkward purgatory for all involved, the game sort of over but maybe not. The Mets thought the game was tied.
Replays showed that as Amaya waited for the ball, he stood on the middle/back of the plate, leaving open the entire front of the plate. Alonso had a lane to slide into, which he did. As Madrigal’s throw arrived, that lane closed, which is allowed based on the trajectory of the throw.
During his slide, Alonso’s left hand hit dirt, bounced up and hovered over the plate. It wasn’t clear whether Alonso touching the plate came before Amaya tagged him.
When clarification came in from umpire Derek Thomas, who was at MLB’s Manhattan offices, there were two calls: about the home plate collision rule, and about the tag itself. Both went against the Mets.
The first call was confirmed: not a violation. The second call was not confirmed and merely stood, which is what happens when there isn’t enough evidence to decisively overturn the call on the field. Because they can’t totally tell, the initial ruling wins out.
The game, indeed, was over. The Mets (15-15) lost. The Cubs (19-12) went through a high-five line. Mendoza remained mad.
“I hustled as hard as I could,” Alonso said. “I made the best slide I could possibly make. The umpire said I was out, so I was out . . . (During the review delay) it was really simple. I thought I was safe. They’re going through it, they made call and it’s like, shucks. Darn it.”
Madrigal said: “It was probably 20 replays out there. I thought for most of them he was safe. Then you see his hand pop up on a different angle, then I thought for sure he was out.”
Mendoza said he was positive Amaya was illegally set up on top of the plate, impeding Alonso’s ability to slide, and thus Alonso should have been safe. The score would have been tied, the game prolonged.
MLB instituted the catcher collision rule in 2014, and it has been a source of periodic confusion since.
Do the Mets have a clear understanding of what the rule actually is?
“I guess not anymore,” catcher Omar Narvaez said. “We’ve been practicing that since spring training. Something that we practice not to do happens today and we didn’t get the call.”
Mendoza said: “It’s not consistent. That’s what bothers me.”
That overshadowed another awfully quiet night for the Mets’ offense and a duel between Chicago lefthander Shota Imanaga (seven innings, seven strikeouts) and Mets righty Jose Butto (six innings, one run).
Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Mets’ first-round draft pick in 2020 and the prospect they gave up in the 2021 Javier Baez/Trevor Williams trade, drove in the only run of the game with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Considered a standout defender, Crow-Armstrong dropped J.D. Martinez’s fly ball to the right-centerfield wall in the bottom of the ninth, setting up McNeil’s at-bat and the final play.
“At the end of the day, the catcher’s in an illegal position,” Mendoza said. “The rules are the rules.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
