‘To me, he caught that ball’: Why wasn’t Tyler Callihan’s Reds-Braves catch an out?

The thoughts and prayers of Cincinnati Reds‘ teammates and fans were with rookie Tyler Callihan after the outfielder suffered a broken left forearm while trying to make a catch in the left-field corner of Monday’s series opener against the Braves in Atlanta.

Reds manager Terry Francona challenged the ruling of no catch. It was ruled an inside-the-park home run by the Braves’ Matt Olson. Fanduel Sports Network’s John Sadak had this to say while Francona asked home-plate umpire Chris Segal for an explanation of the ruling upon review that Callihan didn’t catch the ball.

“Terry Francona is making a very reasonable argument here,” Sadak said. “Like how is that not a catch? I mean he makes the catch and you can see the way he gave of his body in making that play. That seems like a catch. And then he succumbs to what any human being would in that circumstance. So it’s a homer for Matt Olson.”

“That’s an unfortunate circumstance all the way around,” analyst Jeff Brantley added. “Now you just have to regroup and be aggressive (if you’re the Reds). That’s all that you can do.”

A short time later, Sadak and Brantley agreed that umpires and the review center missed the call, which should have been ruled a catch.

“Word from the replay center to our production truck, citing the definition of a catch, that the release of the ball has to be voluntary and intentional, it wasn’t there,” Sadak said. “I get it, and that is the letter of the law. That kid – that looked very ugly. We don’t know exactly what happened. We’ll find out after the game tonight or tomorrow when tests are done. … But Cowboy, to me, there is some feel. We have seen letter of the law at times enforced and at times not on other challenge situations. And the ugliness of that play. To me, he caught that ball. I know what the book says. I think he caught that ball.”

“I do too,” Brantley agreed. “Anytime you have something like that happen, especially when it’s a gift of two runs, turns momentum totally in the Braves’ favor.”

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