New angle shows Orioles fans' meltdown over foul Pete Alonso home run is an overreaction

The New York Yankees may have gotten lucky on a foul Pete Alonso home run last night against the Orioles. They also may not have. But, since nuance is impossible these days, I guess we have to scream and pick a side. It was FOUL! FOUL, I tell you! Don't get brainwashed by Big Replay!

Look. Yankees fans have been screwed by as many replay system technicalities as anybody. If the call on the field cannot be definitively overturned using multiple angles cascading against one another, it will not be. And while there was an angle that everyone on their mother seemingly circulated on Orioles Twitter during the game in order to elicit blind rage, that was neither the only angle nor the fairest angle.

The shot that made it appear as if Alonso's shot off Brent Headrick was a certain dinger came from a biased angle in fair territory, tilted in a different direction than the ball's trajectory.

Conversely, the slow-motion angle taken from behind the plate, following the view of the home plate umpire (posted by MLB Replay's account, powered by Zoom), looks a lot more questionable. The ball may have passed above the pole (for a home run). It also may have passed to the left. It wasn't nearly as clear-cut as the rage-bait angle made it appear.

Pete Alonso, furious Orioles fans had a closer call vs. the Yankees than they'd like to admit

Or, if you prefer science, here's the Yankee fan version of Patriots fans quoting the Ideal Gas Law ad nauseam when they walk into a party:

Alonso's monster shot against Headrick may have been just fair. It was not, however, wildly fair and indisputable. The angle shot down the first-base line, off-center and in fair territory, presented a misleading picture of what transpired. In reality, it was a much closer call, and difficult to overturn (especially since the initial ruling came from an umpire with a better angle).

Notably, this exact same thing happened to Aaron Judge in the Tampa Bay Rays' temporary facility at George M. Steinbrenner Field last season. We'll concede (duh) that this dinger-or-no-dinger had more of an outsized impact on the game. But still ... happens to all of us. The letter of the replay law is very annoying, but it's the same amount of annoying for everybody.

But, if you insist ... we'll put the Orioles run on the board to appease you. O's lose 5-4. Happy now?

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