Tommy Hutton began his 22nd season in the booth for the Miami Marlins Thursday night, and the umpires nearly caused him to retire on Opening Day.
In the 11th inning of the Marlins’ Opening Day matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami’s first baseman Josh Bell fielded a grounder and fired it to catcher Nick Fortes who caught the throw and easily tagged the runner several feet before the plate. What seemed like an obvious out call, however, came under review because of Major League Baseball’s decision to emphasize its base-blocking rule. And when Bally Sports Florida analyst Hutton learned the umpires were reviewing play at the plate, he went off.
The Marlins color commentator was about to explode on the umpires if this out call was overturned for blocking home base https://t.co/iF7jzrNdKo pic.twitter.com/z2t1yqd1SL
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) March 28, 2024
“He was out by three feet! He caught the ball, moved into the runner so he could tag him!” Hutton ranted as he defended Fortes’s play at the plate. “He has to move to his left to catch the ball. And that’s where he catches it and puts the tag on him! Don’t waste time in a game on a simple play like that!”
While MLB plans to enforce obstruction rules around the bases this season, Hutton and Marlins play-by-play voice Paul Severino stressed the need for umpires to use common sense when it comes to allowing defenders to make a tag. Which they ultimately did.
“Thank goodness! Thank goodness!” Hutton said after the out was upheld. “I might’ve thought about retirement if that had been overturned.”
Umpires are far from popular, but MLB umpiring sending Hutton to the brink of retirement during game one of 162 was hilarious. Hutton joined the Marlins broadcast booth in 1997 and was a fixture there until 2015, when he was reportedly fired for being too negative about the team. Two years ago, however, Hutton returned to being a regular analyst in the booth for Miami. And apparently, the Marlins have no issue with Hutton speaking negatively about the umpires.
