During the eighth inning of the 2012 National League Wild Card Playoff, Holbrook, acting as the umpire down the left field line, ruled that a popup in mid left field, 225 feet from home plate, hit by Atlanta Brave Andrelton Simmons was an out under the infield fly rule. The ball dropped between St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma and left fielder Matt Holliday just as Holbrook made his call. Without Holbrook's call, the Braves, down 6–3, would have had the bases loaded with one out. The Braves and the fans in attendance at Turner Field were upset over the call, and the game had to be delayed 19 minutes as fans threw garbage on the field in protest. Atlanta played the rest of the game under protest, which was denied by MLB Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Joe Torre. Several commentators, including TBS studio analysts Ron Darling and Joe Simpson argued that the location of the fly ball should have prohibited the umpire from citing an infield fly. MLB Network personality Harold Reynolds argued that the call was correct, employing instant replay to explain the call. Analysts supporting the call cited the Official Baseball Rules, which states, in part, that the fly ball's depth into the outfield is irrelevant in adjudicating this play.