Surprisingly enough, Sam Holbrook did talk to the media Friday after his infield-fly rule call that caused the Braves to protest Friday night’s game against the Caridnals.
Disappointingly, he defended his call, saying he’d make it again after viewing the replay. He also said that the other five umpires on the field all agreed with the call.
Whether they agreed with the timing of Holbrook’s call might be another matter entirely. While it certainly appeared that Andrelton Simmons’ popup was too deep into the outfield to be called an “infield fly,” that’s still a judgment call. That Holbrook called the infield fly so late, and may have distracted shortstop Pete Kozma in the process, into the play was the real problem here.
