Bud Black stated after the game that he believed Holliday did touch the plate. Following the game, McClelland told The Des Moines Register that "Michael Barrett stuck out his leg, but he didn't have it planted in the ground. What I saw was Holliday kind of slide through that leg and touch the plate." McClelland defended his deliberate safe call saying that he wanted to see if Barrett held on to the ball. On October 20, 2009, in an American League Championship Series game between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels, McClelland made two highly publicized controversial calls. McClelland called Nick Swisher out for leaving the base too early when Swisher was tagging up on a fly ball. Some analysts contend that video replays showed this call to be erroneous. With one out in the top of the fifth inning, an apparent double play was negated when McClelland called Robinson Canó safe at third after he was tagged by Mike Napoli while not in contact with the base. Retirement After spending the 2014 season on umpiring's disabled list, McClelland formally retired from the MLB staff prior to the 2015 season. Accordingly, his last game umpired occurred in September 2013, but he did not officially retire until after the 2014 season. Personal life McClelland, who received both his BA and MA from Michigan State University, resides in West Des Moines, Iowa. He is married to Sandy McClelland and they have three children. See also List of Major League Baseball umpires References External links Major league profile Retrosheet 1951 births Living people Michigan State University alumni Sportspeople from Jackson, Michigan Major League Baseball umpires People from West Des Moines, Iowa