Bob Davidson (umpire) - Other Controversial Calls

Other Controversial Calls

• On October 20, 1992, in the third game of the 1992 World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Atlanta Braves, Davidson ruled that Deion Sanders was not tagged out on a controversial play in the 4th inning. After a David Justice blast to center field was snagged by Devon White, baserunners Terry Pendleton and Sanders crossed each other on the basepath, resulting in an automatic out. With two outs now on the play, John Olerud delivered the ball to third-baseman Kelly Gruber. Gruber and shortstop Manuel Lee now had Sanders engaged in a rundown, and as Gruber closed in on Sanders, feigning a throw to second, Sanders dove headfirst back to second. Gruber dove as well, dragging his glove across Sanders' right foot before his hand reached the base. Davidson called Sanders safe and refuted an argument from manager Cito Gaston.
• On August 5, 2010, Gaby Sánchez of the Florida Marlins hit a hard ground ball down the third base line which was ruled foul by Davidson. However, subsequent replays showed that the ball landed just in fair territory, bounced over the base and landed again in fair territory, sparking outrage from the Marlins dugout. The Philadelphia Phillies went on to win the game in ten innings by a score of 5–4. Davidson later stated, "In my opinion, where it goes over the bag, you can't tell ... I'm very confident I got it right. What the ball did when it went past me is irrelevant."
• On September 8, 2010 Davidson ejected three people during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. In the bottom of the 3rd inning Davidson ejected Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan for arguing balls and strikes from the dugout. Later, during the bottom of the 5th inning, Davidson ejected Brewers batter Chris Dickerson after Dickerson dropped his helmet and bat to the ground after taking a called third strike. The final ejection occurred during the bottom of the 7th inning when Davidson ejected a fan for heckling Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.
• In the top of the 13th inning with the score tied 5–5 in a game that started on April 9, 2011, Edwin Encarnación of the Toronto Blue Jays hit a weak ground ball to Los Angeles Angels Third Baseman Alberto Callaspo. Callaspo fielded the ball but made a poor throw allowing Edwin Encarnación to beat out the throw. Davidson called Yunel Escobar out at third for runners' interference. This sparked anger from the Jays' bench because replays seemed to show that Escobar ran nonstop in a straight line from second to third base. The Angels went on to win the game after scoring in the 14th inning.