Investigating a significant concern with Major League Baseball's replay review system
It was the final straw. I could not take it anymore.
In the second inning of the Mets’ eventual 5-4 loss to Philadelphia at Citi Field on Monday, the Phillies challenged an out call on a close play at first base. The team contended that its baserunner, Bryson Stott, had beaten pitcher Sean Manaea to the bag.
Slow-motion replay confirmed that the Phillies were correct. After hearing from replay officials in Manhattan, umpire Chris Guccione turned on his microphone and announced the verdict.
“After review, the call on the field has been overturned,” he said. “The runner is safe. Philadelphia will retain their challenge.”
Ugh. Again? Their? Their challenge?
I can’t be the only person who flinches when the phrase hits my ear. For years, it has been “New York loses their challenge.” “Philadelphia will retain their challenge.”
Am I crazy, or is it supposed to be “Philadelphia will retain its challenge?” Right?
Shouldn’t MLB or the Players Association -- someone, anyone -- step in and fix this?
Unable to cope any longer, I reached out to Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman, who run the “Grammarphobia” blog and are longtime experts on the English language.
They have written five books on the subject, including O’Connor’s essential bestseller Woe is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English, in Plain English.
For years, O’Connor appeared on WNYC answering urgent questions like mine. Only she and Kellerman could help me here (though I might be beyond help).
They were kind enough to respond. Their full answer:
Strictly speaking, you’re right, and the ump is inconsistent here. Logically, a plural verb should be used with a plural pronoun (“New York lose/retain their challenge”), and a singular verb with a singular pronoun (“New York loses/retains its challenge”).
We would have chosen the singular pairing, since “New York lose/retain” is simply not idiomatic American English. In reference to the team, we sayeither “New York is” or “The Yankees are.”So an American umpire is required by idiom to start with “New York loses/retains …” The issue remains—what about the pronoun?
[Note: This isn’t the case in British English, where corporations, institutions, and teams identified by city are plural and appear with plural pronouns: “Mobil invite you to join them” …“Buckingham Palace are quick to correct their earlier” … “Manchester are expected to collect their fourth” and so on.]
Leaving aside the choice of verb, the use of third-person plural pronouns (“they,” “them,” “their,” etc.) in reference to a singular entity like a corporation or a ball team is not unusual in American English: “I called GE and they told me” … “The Jazz aren’t expected to win.”
It looks like the umpire, when arriving at the pronoun end of the sentence, goes with what’s known as “notional agreement.” Notional agreement is based not on grammatical correctness but on meaning and on the speaker’s intent.
For example, when the referent is regarded as a singular, undivided unit, the pronoun is singular: But when the referent is regarded as a collection of individuals, the pronoun is plural. It’s not unusual to see a sentence that mixes such notions: “The team is amazing, now that they’ve gained strength in offense.”
In short, “New York loses/retains their challenge” is an illogical sentence. But we can see why it happens. The ump regards “New York” as a collection of players (plural), like “Yankees,” which is why the pronoun is plural: “their.” But “New York lose/retain” isn’t a normal construction. “The Yankees lose/retain” IS a normal construction.
When teams are called by the singular names of their cities (Atlanta, San Diego, New York, Pittsburgh), instead of the plural names of the teams (Braves, Padres, Mets, Pirates), you’ll find this dissonance.
One other thing to consider. The third-person plural pronoun group is a wild card these days, accepted even by lexicographers and linguists in many uses that would have been condemned 20 years ago. This muddies the issue, but there it is.
So your question isn’t as simple as it appears. But we hope this helps. All the best,
Pat O’Conner & Stewart Kellerman
