Doug Eddings
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Douglas Leon Eddings (born September 14, 1968 in Las Cruces, New Mexico) is an umpire in Major League Baseball. He came to public attention with a controversial call during Game Two of the 2005 American League Championship Series between the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Eddings started umpiring Little League games at 14, and in his early career worked throughout the minor leagues. He started working American League games in 1998, and has worked throughout both major leagues since 2000. Prior to the White Sox-Angels series, Eddings worked AL Division Series in 2000 and 2002, as well as the 2004 All-Star Game. He also was the home plate umpire for Cal Ripken Jr.'s final major league game on October 6, 2001. He wears uniform number 88.
[edit] 2005 ALCS
The call which brought Eddings national attention came on October 12, 2005 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. The Angels were up one game to none in the ALCS, having won the previous game despite reported exhaustion [1] from playing the previous two nights in Yankee Stadium and Angel Stadium. Game Two was tied 1-1 with the White Sox batting in the bottom of the ninth inning; Chicago had recorded two outs in the inning.
White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski faced Angels relief pitcher Kelvim Escobar, who quickly got two strikes. Pierzynski swung at Escobar's third pitch, a splitter which came in very low. Angels catcher Josh Paul said after the game, "I caught the ball so I thought the inning was over." [2] Eddings later said the ball had been trapped, but made no audible call that the ball hit the ground. [2]
Not hearing himself called out, Pierzynski took a couple of steps toward the dugout, then whirled and legged it out to first base with most of the Angels walking off the field. Despite a "strike three" signal [2], this does not imply Pierzynski was out. Since Edding's ruling was that the ball had touched the ground before entering Paul's mitt, Paul would have had to tag Pierzynski to end put him out. Edding's signals had only indicated a swinging third strike, not that he had called Pierzynski out.
Later video replays of Eddings's strike-three signals from earlier in the game appear to show Eddings was making the same sign on a routine strikeout as he did in the AJ Pierzynski at-bat. But again, a strike three signal does not imply an out, only a strike three.
According to umpire supervisor Rich Reiker the replays showed "there was definitely a change in direction there" indicating the ball touched the ground. He felt, at best, the replay was inconclusive. [2]
Angels manager Mike Scioscia challenged the ruling, but Eddings and the rest of the umpiring crew stood by the call.
Most of the controversy surrounding the play concerns not whether Eddings' ruling that the ball hit the ground is correct, but the umpire's unclear mechanic for signaling his ruling. At the time, professional umpiring mechanics did not dictate a specific no-catch signal or a "no catch" verbalization after a dropped third strike. A mechanic has since been added however.
Eddings did not indicate no-catch signals during the game. In the second inning of the same game "Pierzynski was sure he caught a third strike on Garret Anderson and fired it to third base without tagging Anderson. Only as the ball was thrown around the infield did Eddings make it known that the ball hit the ground." [2]
The White Sox seized an opportunity to rally as pinch runner Pablo Ozuna stole second, and Escobar threw a pitch to batter Joe Crede that he rocketed into left field, scoring Ozuna and winning the game.
After the game, Eddings explained his actions: "My interpretation is that was my 'strike three' mechanic, when it's a swinging strike. If you watch, that's what I do the whole entire game. ... I did not say 'No catch.' If you watch the play, you do watch me — as I'm making the mechanic, I'm watching Josh Paul, and so I'm seeing what he's going to do. I'm looking directly at him while I'm watching Josh Paul. That's when Pierzynski ran to first base."
The White Sox went on to win the next three games of the series and advance to their first World Series since 1959. The White Sox then won the World Series in a four game sweep over the Houston Astros.
