How Umpiring Undoes Sabermetric Personality Types

(Context: My wife is Sherpa. Our three sons are half Sherpa. I don’t go anywheres without my Sherpas — including the 2011 World Series.)

Suka, Roger and I are back from Texas. Suka led the cheers with “Nepali! Nepali! Nepali!” every time Mike Napoli came to bat. Napoli had 7 rbis in the three games we saw. Game 5 had a trifecta: ex-Dodger Adrian Beltre had a game-tieing home run, ex-Angel Mike Napoli had the game-winning hit, and ex-Angel Darren Oliver was the winning pitcher. Game 3 saw a Ruthian performance by Albert Pujols. That Albert went 5-for-6 to tie three World Series one game records (5 hits, 3 HRs, and 6 RBI) and set one (14 TB). Inbetween Derek (Dutch Treat) Holland hurled 8 1/3 innings of 2-hit shutout ball to earn the win in Game 4. That was a far cry from Holland’s 13 pitch (1 strike, 12 balls) three walk relief appearance is 2010 WS Game 2 in San Francisco (that I went to) that helped turn a 2-0 Giants lead into a 9-0 forfeit score.

Is Tony LaRussa senile or suffering from Alzheimers disease? You don’t have LOOGY Marc Rzepczynski warm up in the bullpen without a righthanded pitcher warming up at the same time. It does not matter how loud it was during the telephone call to the bullpen—the bullpen coach should have known better. Perhaps the Cardinals will have a new bullpen coach next year? Having a lefthanded pitcher pitch to Mike Napoli with the bases loaded late in a tie game is tantamount to presenting the World Series trophy to Napoli on a silver platter. I am confident with my Rangers in six games World Series prediction.
 
Kudos to Allen Craig for getting thrown out stealing in the 7th and 9th innings in Game 5. That was the first time since 1955 a player had been caught stealing twice in a World Series game. That gave catcher Napoli more ammo in his MVP quest. The 7th inning caught stealing was damning because it created an intentional walk for Pujols. The 7th inning caught stealing came on a 1-1 pitch. In the 9th inning it was on a 3-2 pitch. Yes, Pujols led the N.L. in grounding into doubleplays (GIDP) in 2011 with 29. Three of those GIDPs were on Opening Day. That Albert led the N.L. in GIDPs wire-to-wire in 2011. Albert never had a day out of GIDP first place.
 
The only way to drink Johnny Walker Black Label or Seagrams Crown Royal (no Jack Daniels) at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is in speakeasys on the second deck club level near the left and right field foul poles. The left field speakeasy had fans lined up outside waiting to get in. Rather than wait in line I walked halfway around the stadium to the other speakeasy. There was nothing secret about the speakeasys. They had clear glass windows so you could see inside and outside. However, a security guard was stationed at the door to make sure no alcoholic drinks left the drinking room. So much for buying a double and taking it to your seat. Clearly visiting the speakeasy was only a worthwhile pregame activity.
 
The Holiday Inn we stayed at was a mile north/northwest of the ballpark. Suka and I drank Cabernet Sauvignon before and after each of the three games. Four bottles were enough for three games. A marguerita vendor came through the stands so we would not be dry during the games.
 
There was a missed call in Game 3. Pujols led off the top of the 4th inning with a line single to leftcenter. Matt Holiday followed with a bouncer deep in the hole at short. Elvis Andrus started a 6-4-3 doubleplay. Second baseman Ian Kinsler’s throw to first pulled Napoli off of the bag. However, Napoli did tag Holliday on the helmet before Holliday stepped on first base. Ron Kulpa (born and bred a St. Louis Cardinals fan) was the first base umpire who muffed the call.
 
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Ron Kulpa
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Kulpa in 2008.
 
Kulpa’s controversial call in game three of 2011 World Series
Ronald Clarence Kulpa (born October 5, 1968 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an umpire in Major League Baseball. He wears uniform number 46.

Prior to pursuing professional umpiring, Kulpa attended Missouri Baptist College. His professional umpiring career began in 1992 and he advanced to the Pacific Coast League in 1998. Kulpa was one of the 22 umpires promoted in the wake of the Major League Umpires Association’s mass-resignation strategy in July 1999, and was named to the National League staff for the remainder of the 1999 season. When the umpiring staffs from the two leagues merged for the 2000 season, Kulpa began working in both leagues.

He has worked one World Series (2011), one Championship Series (2005), and five Division Series (2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, and 2011). He also umpired the All-Star Game in 2001.

Kulpa was infamously head-butted by Carl Everett of the Boston Red Sox in 2000 during an argument about the location of the inner boundary of the batter’s box. Kulpa was also the home plate umpire when Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter at Comerica Park vs. the Milwaukee Brewers on June 12, 2007. Five days before Verlander’s no-hitter, Kulpa called balls and strikes in a game between the Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics in which Boston pitcher Curt Schilling had a no-hitter until Shannon Stewart broke up the no-hitter with a single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

For the 2011 season, Kulpa is assigned to Derryl Cousins’ crew along with Jim Joyce and Jim Wolf.

[edit] 2011 World Series Controversy
Working the third game of the 2011 World Series (his first World Series as an umpire), Kulpa controversially called St. Louis Cardinals hitter Matt Holliday safe after Holliday grounded into what would have been the second out of a routine double play in the game’s fourth inning. Kulpa claimed that Holliday had arrived at first base prior to the tag from Texas Rangers first baseman Mike Napoli, although replays subsequently proved that Napoli had indeed tagged him out by a full stride, prior to Holliday’s stumbling across the base and falling.1 Kulpa later told a pool reporter after the game that he was aware Napoli had tagged Holliday, but he thought Holliday’s foot was already on the base. He did not ask for a second opinion.1 When the game ended, Kulpa reviewed the play on tape and admitted he should have called Holliday out. The Cardinals went on to win the game 16-7.

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (October 2011)

The next night Kulpa was behind the plate, and many thought he had a “generous strike zone”. Assumptions had been made that this was because of the blown call the night before.2

Back to my take (as read off my scorecard). Instead of two outs and nobody on base there was one out and a runner on first. Lance Berkman singled, David Freese doubled in a run, and Yadier Molina was intentionally walked. Jon Jay then hit a bouncer to Napoli at first. Napoli attempted a 3-2-3 doubleplay but did a Steve Garvey throwing the ball behind catcher Yorvit Torrealba to the backstop for an error allowing two runs to score. With two outs Napoli simply would have stepped on first base to end the inning with NO runs scored. A Ryan the Riot single plated the fourth run of the inning. Rafael Furcal bounced into a 1-2 forceout and Ranger starter Matt Harrison was removed from the game. Scott Feldman came in and the Cardinal shooting gallery shifted to automatic fire in the next inning.

Vin Scully says there are no predestined events in baseball. Change Holliday’s 4th inning 6-4 forceout into a 6-4-3 doubleplay and the entire complexion of the game changes. With their starting pitcher Harrison still in the game and down only 1-0 the Rangers may well of won this game and emerged victorious in five games in the World Series. Was umpire Ron Kulpa drinking Budweiser or Lone Star after Game 3?

Kulpa’s bad call set the stage for a Cardinals rout. I am confident that if you told Ranger manager Ron Washington that Albert Pujols would hit three home runs in the World Series Skipper Washington would reply “I hope he hits them all in one game.” In Game 3 of the World Series Pujols had five hits (two singles and three home runs). In the other four World Series games Pujols has zero-nada-zilch hits.

Trick or treat? It was a treat seeing Pujols hat trick. It more than made up for missing the April 15th tax day Cardinals @ Dodgers game in which Pujols and Lance Berkman (Sir Lancelot a.k.a. Fat Elvis) each hit two home runs. We had to miss that slugfest because Roger had a Lions Play Action Flag Football game that night. Would I rather have two Albert regular season home runs in the bush or three Albert World Series home runs in the hand? I’ll take the World Series trio. Game 3 saw the greatest offensive one game individual performance in World Series history. Only Babe Ruth (1926 and 1928) and Reggie Jackson (1977) had previously hit three home runs in one World Series game.

This makes eight consecutive seasons (2004-2011) I have seen the team that wins the World Series win a post-season game. We saw the Rangers take two-out-of-three games from the Cardinals. I have both teams covered this year. Pete Rose says don’t bet on a streak to end. I am all for doing this again next year!

In 2010 San Francisco Giants fans left Pac Bell Park World Series games chanting “U-ri-be! U-ri-be! U-ri-be!” In 2011 Texas Rangers fans left the Ballpark in Arlington chanting “Na-po-li! Na-po-li! Na-po-li!” I have seen Uribe and Napoli each hit one World Series home run. Lifetime (regular season and post season) I have seen Napoli out-homer Uribe 35-1. The Angels trading Napoli to Toronto and four days later seeing him move on to Texas could have been worse. Napoli could have wound up with the Dodgers. Instead Frank McCourt and company traded for Juan Uribe.