Umpiring crew for Atlanta Braves NLDS with Cardinals includes familiar name
You gotta love October. As we sit chomping at the bit awaiting news on NLDS game start times, starting pitcher announcements, and roster decisions, a news blurb was released on Monday afternoon regarding the upcoming best-of-five division series between the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals.
The announcement was that of the umpiring crews for the National League Division Series…and the crew that will be manning SunTrust Park and Busch Stadium will consist of one name that Atlanta Braves fans know very well.
All too well, in fact.
Per MLB.com:
"The NL Division Series are scheduled to begin on Thursday, October 3rd. The crew chiefs on the NL side will be Ted Barrett (Wild Card Game winner @ LAD) and Sam Holbrook (STL @ ATL).Barrett’s crew has Jordan Baker, Doug Eddings, Tripp Gibson, Will Little and Alfonso Marquez. The crew led by Holbrook includes regular season crew chief Tom Hallion, Ed Hickox, Pat Hoberg, Alan Porter and Jim Wolf. All NLDS games will be telecast exclusively by TBS."
The crew chief of the Braves-Cardinals series? Sam Holbrook.
Yep. THAT Sam Holbrook.
Atlanta Braves fans everywhere will surely get a shiver up their spine when they think back to the team’s history with the veteran umpire.
On an October evening in 2012, these same two teams met at Turner Field in Atlanta for the first-of-its kind NL Wild Card game. It was Chipper Jones‘ swan song. It was win-or-go-home.
It was the Night of the Infield Fly.
At a truly momentous part of the ballgame with Atlanta rallying from a deficit, the “call” was made by Holbrook – an incredulous, unfathomable infield fly ruling on a ball hit quite a distance into the outfield… stretching the intent, purpose, and rule book definition of an ‘Infield Fly’.
Insults and curse words were shouted, garbage was hurled onto the playing surface, and the Braves ended their season with a broken heart.
Surely, we can be objective enough to understand that major league umpires are professionals (can we?) and that what transpired 7 years ago has no bearing on this upcoming NLDS.
But don’t tell that to Atlanta Braves fans.
Next. Schedules, TV for Games 1 and 2. dark
SunTrust Park’s anticipated decibel level for Games 1 and 2 might have just increased a notch – or ten – with this news.