ANAHEIM, Calif. — Kyle McCann was called out in bizarre fashion during the second inning of the Oakland Athletics‘ 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday when he failed to touch home plate and then made contact with a teammate who had already scored.
McCann followed Armando Alvarez home from first base on Max Schuemann‘s long RBI double off Roansy Contreras, and he could have comfortably scored Oakland’s second run without a play. But McCann stumbled approaching home, and he failed to step on the plate as he crossed it.
“Talking to the player, he was anticipating sliding, and that’s what he should have done,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. “If you’ve got that thought, you’ve got to slide. These are things we need to clean up. It’s a mental error more than a physical error. It’s part of the process these guys go through here, and unfortunately it cost us a run, and cost us an opportunity to continue to add on in that inning and open that game up.”
McCann nearly ran into Alvarez, who instinctively reached out to steady him and to encourage him to go back to touch the plate, which he did.
But home plate umpire John Bacon immediately called McCann out, because a player isn’t allowed to assist another player who’s still running the bases.
“The runner failed to touch home plate on his way by. Not a problem,” crew chief Alan Porter said. “But then he was assisted by the runner that scored. The fact that he missed the plate already, he needs to go back and touch, but prior to going back to retouch, he was assisted by the runner. So that makes him out. Then they were able to challenge whether he initially touched home plate before the assistance happened.”
Video review confirmed McCann had missed the plate on his first try. The out ended the second inning for Oakland, which led 1-0.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Angels manager Ron Washington, who has spent a half-century in pro baseball. “There was no play at home plate! There’s no reason to miss home plate, none at all. You could have walked from third base and touched home, but I’m glad he didn’t.”
Several people in both dugouts – and in the umpires’ room – joined Washington in saying they had never witnessed that particular sequence of events.
“I have never seen it,” said Porter, an MLB umpire since 2010. “Never had to announce it. First time for everything.”
