It was bizarre, but not really surprising. It only seemed like a matter of time until something weird happened in another baseball playoff game. You've probably seen it already, but as In ALCS Game 2, Umpire Doug Eddings essentailly gave the home White Sox four outs in the bottom of the ninth by not communicating that he believed the ball hit the dirt on the thrid strike. And wouldn't you know it, that fourth out, former Charlotte Knight Joe Crede, hits a game winning RBI Double. Only in baseball.
Why does weird stuff always seem to happen in baseball? Think about it. Even in the past few years, we've had Steve Bartman, ARod punching the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove, that kid in Baltimore who snagged a HR for the Yanks, Whos Your Daddy chants, Byun Hyung Kim blowing two games almost identically in 2001, and so many more I can't think of. Even outside the playoffs, things have been strange, starting with the steroid controversy (especially Mr. Palmeiro), the tied All-Star game, Pete Rose, Ted Williams' corpse (RIP), anything with Barry Bonds, and of course curses galore. All this strangeness does do one important thing however- contribute to baseball's rich history, which still blows away that of any other pro sport in America.
And for Mr. Eddings? He gets to be the third base umpire for Game 3 in Los Angeles/Anaheim. That ought to be a lot of fun.