A couple thoughts on the play at the plate. First, Bohm's foot reached the plate before the tag but did it ever touch the plate? It appears that it might not have although I cannot be certain that some small part of the foot made contact with the plate which does include that black edge that runs around the more visible white plate. Clearly, if the catcher does not make contact with the foot and push it off the plate before the tag, there is no question that Bohm is safe. A few years ago we went through the major change in what the catcher can do to stop a runner. I think in this play, the catcher was within the rules to be blocking the plate, but does that include physically pushing the runner off the base? I don't know if that was a factor in the final call decision or not, but clearly the catcher did more than block access to the plate, he physically knocked the runners foot off it's trajectory at the plate. It will be interesting to hear the MLB explanation, which surely must come, given the controversy this play has stirred up.
Regardless, the decision has been made and the game is over. This is not the first and will not be the last replay decision to cause controversy. Frankly, it is good to see a call that benefits the Phillies. We have seen many that have not.
