No one was happy with the way the Mets won their Thursday afternoon game against the Marlins – not even their broadcast squad.
The Mets completed perhaps the most controversial victory of the early season when, with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Michael Conforto leaned into a pitch that was clearly in the battlefield and should have been called as strike three. Instead, the umpires ruled that he was hit by a pitch to bring in the winning run.
On rerun, the call was confirmed, but Mets’s SNY broadcast team of Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez wasn’t afraid to shout out what everyone saw.
A shocked Cohen immediately said, “It hit Conforto, he made no attempt to get out of the way, it was an attack, but he didn’t move.” During a replay, broadcasters confirmed that he was leaning in it, and seemed confident that they would return the call, arguing whether or not the piece was revisable.
When the call went up, the broadcasters weren’t celebrating and instead appeared dejected and frustrated, even though their team walked away with a win.
‘They try to do it right. They are not well off. So why would you even repeat? Darling asked.
Home plate umpire Ron Kulpa later admitted that he called off the call, saying, “I should have called him.”
The result is the result, and the Mets won their home opener to bring their record to 2-2 for the young season.