Much has been made of the poor quality of the umpiring crews during both ALDS series. In the Angels/Red Sox series, first base umpire CB Bucknor ruled incorrectly on two individual plays; one in which Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis had possession of the ball while the Angels runner was 18 inches off the bag. Fortunately, neither play effected the outcome of the game. In the Twins/Yankees series, however, the missed call definitely had a bearing on the final score. Joe Mauer of the Twins hit what should have been a stand up double to left field. The ball bounced approximately 12 inches inside fair territory before rebounding out, however the third base umpire decreed it a foul ball. Mauer went on to hit a single, and the Twins lost the game. If Mauer’s ball had correctly been ruled a fair ball, he would have been in scoring position for the next batter, who hit a single after Mauer.More than likely, Mauer would have scored off that hit.

There has been a tremendous public outcry regarding these calls, and the state of the umpiring crews in this season’s Playoffs in general. Radio commentators for WEEI, the Boston home stated, stated “These calls have been an embarrassment to Major League Baseball.”

Up until now, MLB’s response has been encapsulated by the Twins/Yankees ALDS crew chief, Tim Tschida’s statement : “We got the call wrong, and nobody feels worse about it than the third base umpire.”

The majority of fans seem to be of the opinion that the Twins probably feel worse about it.

But today, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig’s office has released a statement regarding the accusations of poor umpiring:

“Upon review of the calls in question, MLB has decided that the entertainment value involved supersedes any implementation of the Official Rules.”

“Furthermore, the umpire crews for the ALCS and NLCS will be encouraged to surprise the viewers and attendees of the game with their interpretation of events as they occur. We at MLB fully endorse this new and improved interpretation of the game, especially during the playoffs. The watchability of the games will increase exponentially when the audience will have to wait with baited breath to see if fair balls will count, to see if balls caught will be marked as outs and if tags at the base will  result in the runner being out.”

“We realize that this new take on baseball will be controversial, and that some viewership loss is inevitable. But, the injection of the umpire into the game as a participant, rather than a boring, staid judge, will infuse the game with a new level of excitement. We at MLB believe these subjective calls from umpires are as important, if not more so, than what actually happens during on field play, and this bold new move represents taking that human element to the next level. Tim Tschida and his fellow crew members, along with all the other playoff umpires, need no longer feel bad about making poor calls.”

So, be sure to tune in to the ALCS and the NLCS to watch and see if the plays your favorite player makes even count!

Go umpires!