Questions about Sunday’s controversial call against Orioles

Question: The Orioles had a right to have the Gunnar Henderson/Ernie Clement play reviewed by New York. But why was this not done. If the umpire made a wrong call it should have been overruled. Why was there no New York challenge? From: Gene Rene

Answer: Gene, interference calls are not reviewable. There’s a list of plays that are able to be reviewed. I agree that this type of play should be added to the list of plays that are able to be reviewed.

Question: The recent controversial baserunning call by an umpire in Sunday’s game with the Blue Jays made me think about how they are evaluated? Are they subject to disciplinary action: suspension, demotion, firing?  I have rarely heard of such a thing with umpires. From: Timothy Fowler

Answer: Tim, umpires are disciplined, but it’s not done publicly. Umpires have been fined and suspended. Firings are rare.

Bad calls can hurt umpires by costing them postseason assignments, which are awarded on merit. Those assignments are lucrative and prestigious.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.