Umpires offered free eye surgery after call in Blue Jays win

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A controversial call during Sunday’s game between the Blue Jays and Orioles had the visitors fuming and sparked some jokes online over the umpire’s eyesight.

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During the sixth inning of the afternoon game at Rogers Centre and trailing 4-1, Ernie Clement got on base after a fielding error by Baltimore shortstop Gunnar Henderson.

Catcher Brandon Valenzuela then came to the plate and hit a chopper up the middle – and here’s when things got wild.

Henderson, who had crossed past second base while charging in to field the ball, appeared to try to tag Clement, who was running towards second – more on that “tag” attempt in a minute.

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However, Clement moved out of the way of Henderson, veering a bit towards the outfield in the process. Henderson then threw the ball to first to Valenzuela while Jesus Sanchez scored from third base on the play.

While the Orioles thought they had gotten out of the inning by turning a double play, second-base ump Nic Lentz called Clement safe, sparking a heated reaction from the visitors.

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Pitcher Shane Baz appeared to scream “F*** no” and pointed at Lentz while players and manager Craig Albernaz pleaded their case to the ump.

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What happened after the play?

The play appeared to be a catalyst in the game as the Orioles began to spiral.

With two outs, each of Kazuma Okamoto, Andres Gimenez and Nathan Lukes were able to drive in runs in the inning, giving the Jays a 5-4 lead before George Springer popped out to end things.

Valenzuela would add a home run in the eighth inning as Toronto picked up the 6-4 win over their AL East rival.

What did Orioles players say?

“The only reason I’m not going to talk about that play is because I will get fined,” Baz told reporters following the game. “That’s the only reason.”

Henderson said that he felt like it was “not a great call.”

“I think when you stick your glove out to tag somebody, that’s an attempted tag,” Albernaz said. “There’s no rule about how far you have to extend your arm to tag somebody.”

Sportsnet’s Blue Jays analyst Dan Shulman broke down the play and why it was the correct call, citing that Henderson’s tag attempt wasn’t up to snuff.

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How did the umps explain the call?

Both Lentz and crew chief Hunter Wendelstedt stood by the controversial call after the game and expanded on their reasoning for it.

“The runner has the right to establish his basepath, and so Clement had established his basepath to avoid the fielder from potential interference,” Lentz said, according to the Baltimore Banner. “Even though Henderson reached out for a tag, Clement’s basepath was already established out there, going to the second base, so therefore it was not out of the baseline.”

Wendelstedt described Clement’s decision to alter his running path as a “very gentlemanly thing to do.”

“He was getting out of the way to allow the fielder to make the play toward first base,” he continued. “It just so happened that, you know, then they tried to spin it to get two, but (Clement’s) basepath was already established, and it was not trying to get out of that.”

With the play going viral, one company took advantage of the controversial call.

LASIK, the popular laser eye surgery company, reiterated its standing offer to all professional umpires and referees.

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According to the company’s “Better Vision, Better Calls” initiative, the aim is designed to help reduce the bad calls on the field by offering complimentary corrective eye surgery to those in need.

“Still offering all major league umps free LASIK,” the company posted on X with a clip of the play.

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