White Sox explain why they asked for replay on Astros' Jose Altuve's positioning in Game 1 win
White Sox manager Will Venable credited his video team with checking on where Jose Altuve was standing during Game 1 of the wild-card series and thought they had caught him out of position.
In Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series between the Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox, umpires were called upon to review whether Houston's Jose Altuve had both feet in the infield dirt when he made contact with a pitch from Sam Antonacci. The Houston Astros' infield positioning rule, enacted in 2023, mandates that two infielders must occupy each side of second base, no deeper than the back end of the infield dirt.
This adjustment aimed to deter the use of infield shifts, which had become prevalent among analytics-driven teams. During the fourth inning of Tuesday's game, White Sox coaches suspected Altuve's positioning and challenged the play, seeking confirmation that Altuve's back heel remained on the infield dirt. Despite initial difficulty in determining Altuve's exact positioning on replays, officials deemed his stance correct, maintaining the original fielder's choice and preventing Antonacci from advancing to first base.
The White Sox, leading 4-0 and nobody on, deemed the review a valuable strategic move, with manager Will Venable crediting replay coordinator Bryan Johnson for his keen observation of Altuve's positioning. Altuve, upon learning of the ruling, smiled as he positioned himself for the next at-bat. Since the 2023 rule change, violations related to infield positioning have significantly decreased, with just three such challenges occurring in 2026 to date.
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