In a weird, controversial play in the second inning on Wednesday, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Ketel Marte appeared to make a catch in center field during the Athletics’ 4-0 win.
The reason for the controversy? Marte’s “catch” off the bat of Mark Canha in the bottom of the second inning was not ruled an out, but rather a triple.
Here’s the play in question:
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Marte told reporters after the game he clearly believed it should have been ruled a completed catch.
As you could see, Marte makes the catch at first. That’s not the issue. The issue was what happened after he returned from the collision against the wall -- he dropped the ball. The play was challenged by the D-backs, as they argued Marte had adequate continuation and that the drop only occurred on the transfer.
The official MLB rule states a fielder must hold the ball long enough to show he has complete control of the ball, and that his release of the ball is voluntary and intentional.
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Marte believed he had control, but the call stood and Canha was awarded a triple and the A’s scored two runs on the play.
“I was getting ready to spike my helmet on the ground in frustration,” Canha said following the game.
At first Canha thought the ball should have gone out of the park for a home run, but it got knocked down by the wind.
“As it was going up in the air, I kind of remembered what kind of day it was,” Canha continued.
The day was one where balls weren’t flying over the fence as they should have. One of A’s first basemen Matt Olson’s balls was hit 399 feet with a 109 mph exit velocity, but didn’t leave the park and resulted in a double that landed at the warning track.
Canha didn’t originally believe the catch from Marte would have resulted in him being safe. His helmet was completely off of his head and it appeared he was in the midst of walking back to the dugout.
"I couldn't tell how close he was to the wall when he caught it so I thought there was a chance when he reached for it, that the ball would jarr it loose, so I just was kind of about to look away from the play in disbelief and just as I was looking away, I noticed the ball on the ground," Canha explained.
“I just saw the ball on the ground,” Canha said.
He added he wasn't sure when the ball itself landed on the ground, just noticed it lying there.
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"I didn't really see what happened," Canha said.
“Act like you saw him drop it and try to make it seem like the ball was not caught. I just thought it was out, but yeah -- it’s a crazy play, I had no idea when they went to replay -- just glad it worked out.”