re: what was that ball 4 pick off call..

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In no way was he "picked off"

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Technically, yes, he was picked off since that's how it's scored officially, and I have no problem with the out call. It was close and could have gone either way, but there was a considerable build-up of dirt/mud around the bag and tough to tell if toe was touching base or not. The umpire was looking right at it and determined he was not touching bag. Sucks when it goes against us but I've seen worse calls that were a lot more obvious.

As for the home plate ump not making an obvious ball call, there really isn't a way to do that when you have a big crowd. Even if he would have shouted ball, it's tough for the runner to hear and it's up to the runner to look in on a 3-2 count anyway. Ump can't raise his hands because that would signify timeout and a ball four is not dead. It's up to the runner to know the situation, be observant and not overslide 2nd base.