Saturday in baseball, Max Scherzer had a perfect game going through 8 2/3 innings. It was his second straight other-worldly start in a row, as David Brown of CBS Sports points out:
Scherzer’s combined line over his past two starts: 18 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 26 strikeouts. He has retired 54 of the past 57 batters he has faced. His game score for June 14 computed to 100. Scherzer’s game score for his no-hitter Saturday: Just 97. The difference? Probably the strikeouts — he got 16 against the Brewers, and “just” 10 against the Pirates.
However, Scherzer would not get his no-hitter last Sunday and he would not get his perfect game on Saturday. How he lost his perfect game, however, is a matter of controversy.
The Pirates were one out away from being held without a baserunner, and with the ninth spot in the batting order at the plate, they sent up career .276 hitter Jose Tabata to try to break up the perfect game and maybe even get a hit. With the count 2-2 and Scherzer one strike away from completing his perfect game, this happened:
Tabata clearly leans into the pitch with his elbow. However, it’s not his fault that he broke up the perfect game, and here’s why: he should not have been awarded first base. According to the official rules of baseball, Tabata should not have been awarded first base:
(b) He is touched by a pitched ball which he is not attempting to hit unless (1) The ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter, or (2) The batter makes no attempt to avoid being touched by the ball;
If the ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter, it shall be called a strike, whether or not the batter tries to avoid the ball. If the ball is outside the strike zone when it touches the batter, it shall be called a ball if he makes no attempt to avoid being touched.
It is clear that Tabata did not get out of the way of the ball as it came in. It is also clear that Tabata actually made an active effort to get hit by the ball, as evidenced by his dropping his elbow as the ball drew near. However, if anyone should be to blame for Tabata being awarded first base, it’s the umpires.
Not for nothing, but home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski was standing right there when it happened. He could have easily made the call that Tabata did not try to get out of the way of the ball. The pitch was clearly out of the strike zone, so Muchlinski could have called him back to the box and made the count 3-2.
Also, if Muchlinski could not have realized from his view that Tabata dipped his elbow, why didn’t any of the other umpires consult with Muchlinski after the play? The play is reviewable under the instant replay system, but manager Matt Williams did not elect to review the play, as documented by the Washington Post:
The errant slider to Tabata made Scherzer the first pitcher to lose a perfect game with a hit-by-pitch with two outs in the ninth inning since Hooks Wiltse in 1908. The Nationals did not argue the call. Manager Matt Williams said he didn’t consider stepping out of the dugout to talk to home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski because he didn’t want to mess with Scherzer’s rhythm. “That’d be a crying shame,” he said.
He’s right. Messing with Scherzer’s rhythm at that point of the game would have been a mistake, and Scherzer may have lost his perfect game after the review. But without a challenge, the umpires should have still been able to confer and figure out the obvious fact that Tabata leaned into the pitch.
Another facet of the hit by pitch debate is that the Pirates could have come back in the game. Yes, they were down 6-0, but weirder things have happened in the game of baseball:
The Pirates needed to string quite a few hits together for that to happen, but it is still a possibility, albeit a very slim one. Tabata just wanted to get on base to spark a rally for his team. He probably knew that he could be the last out of a perfect game, too, and he probably did not want that distinction. Many will look back on what happened and say that Tabata leaned into a pitch and ruined history for a pitcher who, although he may be the best in the game right now, may never get this chance again. He did both of those things on Saturday. But do you know what else he did?
His job.
He could have easily mailed in the at-bat, which has happened before at the end of perfect games, no-hitters, or simple blowouts. However, in the grind of a 162-game season, in an at-bat at the end of a game Tabata knew his team would probably lose, he didn’t give up on the at-bat or his team. That’s admirable.
Many people are to blame for Scherzer losing his perfect game. Count among them the umpires and even Scherzer himself. You could even blame Matt Williams for not challenging, but that is a more difficult case to make because Scherzer was one out away from still getting a no-hitter. However, I neglected to list an obvious culprit because he isn’t to blame here.
His name is Jose Tabata.