The Philadelphia Phillies announced on June 1 a change in their approach to close plays at home plate following an unusual incident during their 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The situation occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning when Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages appeared to score, but replays showed he may not have touched home plate and was not tagged by Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto.
Interim manager Don Mattingly said, “We still feel like we’re not quite sure, because if you’re looking at the whole play from replay standpoint: He never touched the plate, how can he be safe, right? But we also talked about, obviously, the rule.” According to Major League Baseball rules discussed by Mattingly and team staff, a runner is not automatically out for missing home plate unless tagged or unless a defensive player appeals by touching home with possession of the ball while making an appeal to the umpire.
Mattingly clarified that teams cannot challenge a call at home and then attempt an appeal; instead, they must appeal first before considering a replay challenge. “We have to appeal it first before you can go to replay,” Mattingly said. “You can’t just go to replay and say he left early; you have to appeal it first.”
Following this event, Mattingly indicated that the Phillies would proactively make appeals on close plays at home going forward. “That is something that we talked about changing the way we do that,” Mattingly said. “If there’s a play at the plate and it’s close, just touch the plate and say, ‘He missed home plate,’ and make the umpire say so.” This adjustment was put into practice during Sunday’s game when Realmuto tagged Max Muncy after he crossed home as well as when Alec Bohm appealed third base after Freddie Freeman’s sacrifice fly.
The Philadelphia Phillies represent Philadelphia in Major League Baseball’s National League as one of its charter members and serve both regional and national audiences through games played at Citizens Bank Park since 2004 under leadership from their executive office, according to the official website.
