It was Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. On one side stood hometown favorites, the Toronto Blue Jays. And on the other hand, the Seattle Mariners arrived exhausted after a historic 15-inning victory,  dreaming of their first-ever trip to the Fall Classic.

The exhausted Mariners came out swinging in the top of the first inning after their catcher, Cal Raleigh, started the rally with a single to right field. Then, Julio Rodríguez also singled in the center, sending Raleigh to the third. Seattle had a huge scoring chance with only one out and first and third bases loaded. Then, the game changed in a flash.

Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco hit a soft ground ball to third on Kevin Gausman’s pitch that directly went to Blue Jays third baseman Addison Barger’s hand. Barger ignored the easy out at first base and threw towards home plate to his catcher, Alejandro Kirk, for stopping Raleigh, who was about to score the opening run of the game.

Raleigh slid hard into the plate as Kirk applied the tag, and the home plate umpire shot his fist into the air. “Out!” After that, the inning was over when the next at bat, Jos Naylor, flew out in center field, ending the rally with first and second base loaded.

But the controversy exploded when the official FOX Sports: MLB shared a replay of the moment when it appeared Raleigh reached home plate safely, and it could’ve overturned the umpire’s decision if reviewed for catcher’s interference. FOX Sports: MLB asked in a post on X after that, “Do you think the Mariners should have challenged this out call in the 1st inning?”

That tweet gave a voice to thousands of frustrated Mariners fans. They questioned why manager Dan Wilson didn’t challenge the call. Was Raleigh safe? Did the catcher block the plate? Simply the decision not to review the play sparked a conversation among the fans..

How the fans saw the call

Some fans saw the collision at the plate and felt the call was wrong. “He was definitely safe. Major League Baseball should intervene in scoring plays in playoff games for sure.” They claimed that Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk illegally blocked the plate. The rulebook says a catcher can’t block the runner’s path without the ball.

Though there is a major exception when the throw pulls the catcher into the runner’s lane, the block is legal. That gray area is what makes the call so tough, and the ALCS event makes it tougher. So one fan said, “Probably too close to overturn, but at the same time it’s worth a shot.”

Fans knew a challenge was the only way to fix a bad call, and the failure to even try felt like a massive mistake by the video crew. So they said, “110% Mariners should have challenged this! Catcher might have blocked the plate and Raleigh might have been safe! Horrible work from the video crew”.

For others, the blame landed squarely on one person: the manager.  “You 100% have to challenge that! You get an extra challenge. Dan Wilson was outmanaged in the last series & commits a major f– up on this one.” The manager only has 15 seconds to decide whether to challenge, and in that small window, it’s very tough to find the perfect camera angle.

It’s tough to blame, but the reality is not that easy. So, why that angle? It’s from the previous game when Wilson pulled George Kirby too early in the do-or-die Game 5 against Detroit. And the move immediately backfired when a reliever gave up a home run. From the comment, it’s clear that the fan still not forgotten that decision.

Finally, it wasn’t just about one out; it was about a golden opportunity that was missed. So, one said, “Could’ve had 1 run with 2 on and 1 out. Mariners are gonna regret not challenging that.” The out on “Big Dumper” ended the offense and momentum.

Then, in the bottom of the first, Blue Jays leadoff man George Springer hit his career-first leadoff home run on the very first pitch from Bryce Miller and flipped a possible 1-0 Mariners lead to a 1-0 Toronto lead.