Pete Alonso mashed a moonshot that would have put the Baltimore Orioles up 4-3 in the seventh inning against the New York Yankees on Wednesday, but it was ruled foul on the field, and replay bafflingly upheld the call. That ball was headed for the left field foul pole and absolutely looked like it deserved to be a go-ahead homer. Instead, the game stayed tied, and Alonso later struck out in that same at-bat.
The Robbery That Wasn’t an Outfielder’s
The wildest part about this? The available camera angles seemed to show a home run, plain as day. So why wasn’t it overturned? Alonso revealed the ridiculous logic: “What I was told is in order to overturn a call, you need to have two camera angles to confirm it.” He went on to say that “the best view, the only view that shows the ball fair or foul is the one down the line, but no other camera angle is available.” Think about that. MLB has a rule requiring two angles, but doesn’t provide the necessary tech to meet its own standard. Alonso summed it up perfectly, resigned, “It is what it is.” Talk about bogus.
Tech Fails and Future Fears
Even the Orioles’ own dugout knew it was a homer, thanks to ball-tracking data. Manager Craig Albernaz said, “There’s ball-tracking data. It’s really tough to have that come back as stands and have that visual in the dugout.” So, the league’s own tech said it was fair, but the replay rules, without adequate cameras, decided otherwise. The solution here seems incredibly simple: upgrade stadium technology. Add more cameras. Maybe even throw some lasers on those foul poles, as some people have suggested. It just doesn’t make sense to have a standard that you can’t possibly meet. While this blown call didn’t ultimately cost Baltimore the game (they lost after giving up two runs in the following frame), imagine this happening in a bigger game with bigger stakes. It would be an absolute disaster.
Cleveland’s Big Bet in the East
In other league news, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a significant move in the NBA, landing Peyton Watson from the Denver Nuggets in a three-way trade Wednesday night. To get him, Cleveland parted ways with Max Strus. Watson is coming off a great 2025-26 season, averaging career highs with 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. Charles Curtis of FTW gave the trade a favorable grade for the Cavs, calling Watson a “great replacement as a tough defender and additional scorer behind Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.” Watson also snagged a “huge new contract,” but for a Cleveland squad trying to “contend in the East again,” it’s seen as an “improvement without giving up too much.” It’s a good move by Cleveland to keep pace in a stacked Eastern Conference.
MLB needs to get its replay act together, and fast, before a critical game gets decided by a preventable technicality. Meanwhile, the Cavs are loading up. Can Watson be the piece that pushes them over the top? We’ll be watching to see how it all plays out.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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