When first base umpire Jim Joyce missed a safe/out call at first base during Game 3 of the Cardinals-Nationals NLDS, the seemingly unwonted occurrence—ESPN once estimated umpires miss 20 percent of all close calls—exploded into a national headline that even The Associated Press saw fit to distribute.
The first sentence of the AP release?
It's another umpiring call that went the St. Louis Cardinals [sic] way this postseason.
Ah, there's the rub.
Implying that umpires, referees, judges and other sports officials are conspiring for or against certain teams is nothing new as fans often blame a team's misfortune on an impartial th...
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