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Very Lenient Umpire Tells Base Runner Next Time He Gets Tagged He’s Out

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MIAMI—Umpire Laz Diaz displayed an unusual amount of leniency Sunday, allowing a clearly tagged Hanley Ramirez to take third base regardless of his failed steal attempt, on condition the Marlins shortstop understood he could not count on the same treatment next time. “I told him next time he’s tagged out, I’m calling him out,” Diaz told reporters after the game. “But I figured Hanley makes that play 9 out of 10 times, so for him to mess up that badly means something’s probably going on in his personal life, and hey, we’ve all been there. I can respect that.” Asked why the umpire also declared Logan Morrison’s eighth-inning foul a home run, Diaz replied, “You could see in his eyes he meant to hit a home run.”