Holliday Never Touched the Plate

Here is conclusive video proof that Matt Holliday never touched the plate. Using a reverse angle still frame that surfaced on MLB.com it is now possible to show what was happening from the viewpoint of Tim McClelland. Unfortunately the video that the still frame came from has yet to appear, so until it does, this is clip is 97% the best analysis that can be done. (note: The sound is a bit out of sync at times but I think you’ll be able to follow along.)

If you can watch this video and still think that Holliday touched the plate then you probably think O.J. Simpson is innocent also. Well maybe that’s a little harsh but you get the idea. Holliday’s hand clearly comes out from underneath Michael Barrett’s foot before he could have touched the plate. Barrett’s heel remains flatly on the ground while his foot blocks Holliday’s hand all the way beyond the plate as Holliday continued his slide.If and when the reverse angle video ever does surface (and just where the heck is it right now?) it could potentially be the only “single shot” proof that Holliday missed the plate. Until then, the best that can be done is this multiple angle, cross referenced, replay that clearly shows, Matt Holliday never touched the plate.

Tags: HNTTP's Videos, McClelland, Video posts by admin
35 Comments »

On Friday October 12th, MLB Advanced Media filed multiple copyright infringement complaints with YouTube that brought down the links to three of Holliday Never Touched the Plate’s (HNTTP) videos.  The complaints were filed despite the fact that no copyright infringement took place (since the use of the original source media was permissible under normal copyright law given the context of said use.) Basically this means that, according to MLB Advanced Media, if this site wants to examine the question of if Matt Holliday missed the plate, it must somehow do so without using the original video of the slide or any related source material. Maybe I should hire a sketch artist?

In all likelihood, these copyright complaints were not filed in an episode of targeted enforcement to curb discussion of the issue on this site, but rather the complaints were almost certainly filed as part of a broader effort to scrub illegal MLB content from YouTube. I can imagine some intern having the job of searching through every video that incorporates MLB footage and simply sending copyright infringement notices to YouTube on all of them without even bothering to evaluate the context of the use of said footage. Of course the vast majority of baseball highlights that are posted on YouTube are in fact in violation of copyright regulations and MLB Advanced Media is entirely within their rights to ask that they be taken down. However by including this site’s video in the complaint, MLB Advanced Media has cast an overly broad net.

Some may wonder why this site’s videos are hosted on YouTube and not on the site server. While there are several reasons for this arrangement, two stand out. The first is that it’s cheaper. This is a non-commercial site. There are no products being sold, no paid referral links, not even google adwords. This means that the site has no income stream. Without the ability to raise cash, this site would be unable to afford the bandwidth costs that the viewing of large media files would incur. The second reason relates to usability factors. Because they are so easy to use for viewers and content posters alike, third party sites such as YouTube offer a viable alternative to self hosting video on a dedicated server.

The following affected videos are now hosted on Google as of Sunday October 14th.
Matt Holliday Never Touched the Plate
Multi-angle: Matt Holliday Never Touched the Plate
and
Matt Holliday Never Touched The Plate - Three Camera angles

I will continue to try and keep these videos up as they are essential for the public discussion of whether or not Matt Holliday touched the plate. Imagine trying to determine the answer to that question without being able to see the replays and you’ll see why they are needed.

Tags: HNTTP's Videos, MLB by admin
2 Comments »

ESPN’s Sportscenter used at least two different sets of highlights when replaying Colorado’s Matt Holliday’s slide into home vs. the Padres. On the Sportscenter show that aired following the game the footage used was from the TBS feed. They showed replays from four cameras, one down each foul line, and three different views from behind home plate. The views of the slide were good, one shot even shows home plate umpire Tim McClelland still moving into position as Holliday attempts to touch the plate.

The next day another Sportscenter show aired that again used the TBS footage, but with only two angles shown, and more importantly with the framing altered so that less of the slide could be seen. Compare the shots contained in the image below.

What makes the change in framing of the replay shots curious is that they were used in a segment where the three ESPN analysts were specifically addressing the question of whether or not Matt Holliday touched the plate. You can’t see Tim McClelland still moving as the play was happening. You can’t see see the on deck hitter Brad Hawpe’s lack of celebration as he watches the play. You can’t see how far Holliday’s body moves away from the third base line as he tries do dive around the tag. After the abbreviated and altered shots were shown, Tim Kurkjian dismissed the issue by saying, “I don’t think he touched the plate either, but its inconclusive.” Really? Well it seems to me that if you are going to address the question of if Matt Holliday touched the plate, that it might be a good idea to use the best replays possible. If you’re ESPN and you’re going to tell your viewers that the replays are “inconclusive” it just doesn’t make sense to use fewer replay angles and then alter the framing of the replays you do show so much that you actually cut out the plate during the tag. In fact, I would argue that that you should make an extra effort to find the best replays and perform your best analysis possible, not to just throw some inferior clips out there and then label them “inconclusive.”

It is an indisputable fact ESPN altered the replay clips of Holliday’s slide so that they showed less detail the day after the game than they did post game. The real question is why did they do it? Here are the best possible answers that I can come up with,

1. They felt the new shots were actually better than the first set and showed the play more clearly.
2. They wanted to get rid of the MLB/TBS logo.
3. They were trying to purposely shape the story so that the replays would be considered inconclusive.
4. ?

If it was choice #1, ESPN was sadly mistaken and did not exercise due journalistic diligence. If it was choice #2, ESPN is guilty of making a choice that resulted in the footage not being attributed to MLB/TBS. If it was choice #3, however, well that’s just plain bad and opens up a whole host of shady issues. Issues like, Why are they changing the clips? Who told them to change the clips? etc. I threw in #4 because there could be other reasons so you can lump them all in here.

Just so you can see the original ESPN clips, I’ve placed links to them below as well as an embedded YouTube link to where I have extracted just the replays from both Sportscenters and compare them directly.

Post game ESPN Sportscenter clip

Next day ESPN Sportscenter clip

Tags: Conspiracy?, ESPN, HNTTP's Videos, MLB, TBS, Video posts by admin
3 Comments »