For the first time in College World Series history, the first two games ended with walk-offs. The second one saw Tennessee come all the way back to defeat Florida State 12-11 – but it wasn’t without controversy after a check swing call with two outs.
With Blake Burke at the plate with two strikes and two outs, the third base umpire ruled he didn’t swing after an appeal. Link Jarrett immediately came out of the dugout, disagreeing with the call as play went on. Burke ended up tying things up with a hit as Tennessee pulled off the comeback.
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After the game, Burke said he didn’t think he went around. But on Saturday, Jarrett said he’s been working to make check swings reviewable plays, and Friday’s game was another example of why he wants it to happen.
“I’ve pushed with the umpiring groups for the review of a check swing,” Jarrett said. “I would like to be able to challenge that. I told them – this started back in September – I said, every camera in the stadium has a view of that. You have some random plays that come up that are not captured. Those are captured. And it’s a very, very difficult call. I think in umpiring, it is the hardest of calls to make. Even the guy that’s on the open side that has to make that, it’s not an easy call. You could argue that that specific call, and because of the advancement of technology, I think that’s something that should be put in. I think it should be in the big leagues, I think it should be in college.
“We have the technology. Everything’s on home plate. So you’re going to get some good looks at it. And now you know why I have fought for that. And it’s no different than an out at first base, or a tag play. Those outs are critical, and that clearly couldn’t be more critical.”
Link Jarrett: ‘They thought it was a great idea’
According to NCAA rules, a checked swing is a strike “if the barrel head of the bat passes the batter’s front hip.” With that definition, Link Jarrett argued it would be easy to review and see the half-swing constitutes a swing.
When asked if he received any pushback, Jarrett said he heard the opposite. That’s why he’s been making such a hard push for the change.
“They thought it was a great idea. … That’s what I got,” Jarrett said. “I said, ‘Well, let’s do it.’ That’s a hard call. We have to umpire our own scrimmages, and when you try to make these calls with the kind of bat speed and where guys stand in the box, it’s different. So the plate is in different spots based on how far forward and back they are. Those are extremely difficult. We’ve seen it in critical games at the major league level and our games.
“I think it’s something that should be a challengeable call. Whether the umpires want to review it themselves to get it right or we want to put it under the umbrella of a coaches’ challenge, because of the visibility of that part of the field, I think it would be one of the most efficiently reviewed plays.”
With the loss, Florida State is now heading to the losers’ bracket. The Seminoles will take on Virginia Sunday night as part of the double-elimination format.
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