Final out of the 2021 National League Division Series

The final out of the 2021 National League Division Series was the result of the attempted checked swing on an 0-2 pitch by Wilmer Flores of the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the ninth inning in the fifth and deciding game of the series, played on October 14, 2021 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California. With one runner on, two outs and the Giants trailing their archrivals the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 first base umpire Gabe Morales ruled that Flores, who was the potential series-winning runner had he reached base, had offered on a two-strike pitch from Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer that was outside the strike zone. Morales' call thus resulted in a strikeout, and since rulings on checked swings are not reviewable under Major League Baseball rules the call instantly ended the game, the series and .
The call was highly controversial. Replays appeared to show that Flores' checked swing motion was consistent with those commonly ruled in favor of batters in MLB. This controversy has led to renewed scrutiny of the rules regarding checked swings and how they are enforced, and in particular the lack of a clear definition in the rule book as to what constitues a legal checked swing.
Background
The checked swing rule
Decisions regarding checked swings are among the most contentious in baseball, in large part because the MLB rulebook does not contain an official definition for a checked swing. Instead, it merely defines a swing as "an attempt to strike at the ball." It is the sole discretion of the umpire as to whether or not an attempt is deemed to have been made. Generally, factors such as whether the bat passes the front of the plate or the batter pulls their wrists back are considered in the ruling. Some umpires prefer to use the "breaking the wrists" criterion as the method to decide a checked swing: if the wrists "rolled over", a swing is deemed to have occurred.
Long prior to 2021, the lack of any clear definition for a checked swing in the rule book was the subject of significant criticism.
2021 season
The rivalry between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers is among the oldest, fiercest and most storied in all of baseball, and dates back to the 19th century when both franchises were based in New York City.
The Giants and the defending World Series champion Dodgers recorded the two best records in all of MLB in 2021. The teams' race for the National League West title went all the way to the final day of the 2021 season, with San Francisco defeating the San Diego Padres to clinch the division crown with a 107-55 record, one game ahead of the Dodgers. Moreover, the Giants held a narrow 10-9 edge in the season series between the teams - this meant that from a mathematical perspective the season series result effectively determined the winner of the division title since the teams earned identical 97-46 records against all other opponents.
Under MLB's current playoff format, only the six division winners are assured berths in the Division Series while the two best non-division winners in each league play a one-game playoff to determine the fourth team in each league's Division Series. Los Angeles, despite having the second best MLB record, was therefore obligated to play the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2021 National League Wild Card Game for a Division Series berth. Furthermore, the rules stipulate that the Wild Card Game winner always plays the top seed in each league, even if its own record is better than that of one or both of the league's other division winners. Thus, the winner of the play-in game at Dodger Stadium had to play the Giants regardless of whether or not it had the worst record among the four NLDS teams.
Los Angeles defeated St. Louis in the Wild Card Game to advance to the series against San Francisco.
2021 NLDS
Besides being seen as a continuation of the NL West division race, the series was unprecedented for other reasons. It was the first-ever postseason meeting between the historic rivals, and also set a new record for the most regular season wins by any two MLB postseason series participants with the Giants' and Dodgers' 213 wins exceeding the 212 wins recorded by the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres prior to the 1998 World Series.
Whichever team lost in the NLDS would have at least tied the record for most games won in a season without advancing to the LCS since the Division Series was first played in 1995. The preveious record under the same circumstances was 106 wins, set by the 2019 Dodgers when the team recorded the same record as they did in 2021.
The teams split the first two games at Oracle Park, with the Giants winning Game 1. San Francisco reclaimed the series lead at Dodger Stadium, but the Dodgers avoided elimination with a win in Game 4 to send the series back to Oracle Park for the fifth and deciding game.
Meanwhile, as was always the case since the introduction of the LCS, the NLDS consisted of two separate matchups. In the other series, the NL East champion Atlanta Braves defeated the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers three games to one. The deciding contest in San Francisco was therefore the only NLDS Game 5 in 2021.
Game 5
The most recent prior Game 5 in the NLDS for the Dodgers was in 2019, which they lost to the Washington Nationals. The Giants' most recent NLDS Game 5 was in 2012, which they won over the Cincinnati Reds.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler selected Logan Webb to start for San Francisco. Webb pitched the first seven innings, while Corey Knebel acted as an opener for the Dodgers but only pitched the first inning. The Dodgers scored first, as Mookie Betts reached on a single in the sixth inning and was driven in on a double by Corey Seager. A home run by the Giants' Darin Ruf off of Julio Urías in the bottom of the same inning tied the score.
Ninth inning
The Dodgers reclaimed the lead with a run in the top off the ninth inning off of Giants closer Camilo Doval, via a hit by pitch and singles by Gavin Lux and Cody Bellinger.
With the season on the line, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sent in Max Scherzer to pitch the bottom of the ninth. After Brandon Crawford lined out to left field, Kris Bryant reached first base on an error by Justin Turner.
With Bryant on base, the Giants were one swing of the bat away from eliminating the Dodgers and advancing to face the Braves on the National League Championship Series. LaMonte Wade Jr. was the Giants' first potential series winning run to come to the plate. He was called out on strikes.
Flores' at-bat
Entering his at-bat, Wilmer Flores was 0-17 with one walk in 18 career plate appearances against Scherzer.
Both of the first two pitches were strikes. Flores did not swing at the first pitch and fouled off the second. On the third pitch, Flores initiated a swing before evidently realizing the pitch was well below and outside the strike zone. Replays appeared to show that Flores was able to halt the forward motion of his bat above approximately the middle of the plate. Dodgers catcher Will Smith and home plate umpire Doug Eddings appealed to first base umpire Gabe Morales to rule on the checked swing. When Morales held his clenched fist in the air to signal that Flores had indeed offered a swing, Eddings called Flores out on a swinging third strike, thus ending the game. With their 110th win of the season (regular season and postseason), the Dodgers eliminated the Giants and advanced to face Atlanta in the NLCS.
Aftermath
The hometown Giants' fans were incensed. Some spectators showered the field with objects, including cups of beer, with much of the abuse being directed at Morales, Eddings and the other four umpires as they hastily left the playing field and exited through a tunnel on the first base side of home plate. However, the vast majority of those in attendance promptly left the ballpark, as virtually none of the Giants faithful wanted to see the Dodgers celebrate their win.
Morales' call was swiftly and widely condemned on both social media and mainstream media outlets. After the game, Morales and crew chief Ted Barrett watched the replay. Both men spoke to reporters after the game, but were reluctant to make any definitive statement as to whether or not the call was correct.
The incident also led to renewed criticism of the checked swing rule in general, with many commentators opining that the lack of a clear definition for the checked swing in the MLB rulebook makes it impossible to determine with any reasonable certainly whether or not Morales' call was correct. However, not all commentators who argued that a more technical and/or scientific definition of the checked swing may be desirable also agreed that checked swing calls should be reviewable.
Meanwhile, in a matter not directly related to the series-ending call itself the MLB playoff format came under renewed criticism for compelling the two best teams in the league to play one another before the League Championship Series. Nevertheless, the Dodgers ultimately failed to successfully defend their National League and World Series titles as they lost the NLCS to the Braves four games to two.

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