Tag: Bad umps

Mets pitcher Jimmy Yacabonis celebrated a strikeout by subtly mocking the umps after Max Scherzer’s ejection

The pettiness is elite.

You’re not going to find many teams that want to exhaust the bullpen in the middle of a long road trip, but the New York Mets didn’t exactly have a choice on Wednesday. And you could tell they were upset about it.

Just look at Mets pitcher Jimmy Yacabonis.

In what was initially supposed to be a matchup between current Mets ace Max Scherzer and former Mets ace Noah Syndergaard, those plans changed after the third inning when Scherzer was ejected for a sticky substance on his glove. Scherzer adamantly argued that it was rosin, but the umpiring crew led by Dan Bellino and Phil Cuzzi wasn’t buying it. Scherzer was ejected, and in came Yacabonis who ended the fifth inning with a strikeout of Freddie Freeman.

Check out how he celebrated the strikeout, though.

Yacabonis mockingly looked around for the umpires to do a sticky substance check. How’s that for confidence?

We’ll find out more about the crew’s decision after the game, but in the meantime, Mets fans loved Yacabonis’ subtle jab at the umpires.

Umps oddly let the Yankees’ Domingo GermĂĄn stay in the game despite him failing substance check

He got caught cheating and didn’t get ejected.

Yankees pitcher Domingo GermĂĄn was dominant in Saturday’s 6-1 win against the Minnesota Twins. He struck out 11 batters in 6.1 innings, allowing just one run on three hits. But his day probably should have ended much earlier.

After GermĂĄn started the game with three perfect innings, the umpiring crew led by crew chief James Hoye did the customary check for foreign substances. And that’s when they noticed an unusual amount of rosin or sticky stuff on GermĂĄn’s hand. GermĂĄn could have been ejected right there, but he was allowed to wash his hands and stay in the game.

Yet, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli couldn’t believe it when GermĂĄn was checked again in the fourth inning and was still allowed to stay in the game despite the foreign substance remaining on his hand.

The broadcast slowed down the conversation with the umpires, and we could see that GermĂĄn was told to wash his hands. Baldelli was understandably furious with the leniency that GermĂĄn was being showed in that situation as MLB rules call for the pitcher to get ejected if a foreign substance is detected. Instead, it was Baldelli who got ejected.

MLB fans also couldn’t believe that GermĂĄn was allowed to stay in the game.

A furious Aaron Boone was ejected after umpires appeared to reverse a call without Guardians challenge

Aaron Boone was right to be angry.

The goal of every MLB umpire should be to get the call correct, but there’s a right way to go about it. That’s not what happened during the first inning of Wednesday’s Yankees-Guardians game in Cleveland.

With one out and runners on second and third, Josh Naylor hit a soft fly ball to shallow center field. A charging Aaron Hicks dove and appeared to make the catch before getting to his feet and throwing to second for an inning-ending double play.

In real time, it was unclear if Hicks actually caught the ball. But that should have been the end of it because Terry Francona didn’t ask for a challenge within the MLB-mandated time limit of 15 seconds.

However, the umpiring crew would have other ideas, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone had every right to be upset.

Between innings, the umpires noticed a replay on the videoboard that showed Hicks trapping the ball. So, the crew convened, Larry Vanover put on the headset and overturned the call, giving Naylor a single and the Guardians a run on the play. Again, the Guardians didn’t ask for a challenge in time, and umpires aren’t supposed to use in-stadium replays to change calls or initiate reviews. Those decisions have to be made from the replay center, but no replay was asked for in time.

So while the umpires did technically make the correct call here, they went about it the totally wrong way that appeared to break MLB’s own rules. Boone was furious about that and was ejected while arguing the point.

Vanover’s crew is going to have plenty of questions to answer after that. The whole sequence really shouldn’t have been allowed to happen.

Mics picked up what a heated Christian Arroyo told the umpire after multiple missed calls in an at-bat

Somehow, he was NOT ejected for that.

It’s still early in the season, but the past few days have not been great for the Boston Red Sox. They just got swept at home by the Pirates, and we saw (and heard!) those frustrations boiling over in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss at Fenway Park.

Christian Arroyo had reason to be upset.

Batting in the seventh inning with two outs and a runner on second, Arroyo quickly found himself in a hole when a high first pitch was called a strike. He fouled off the next two pitches only for home plate umpire Dan Iassogna to call him out on another pitch that missed the zone.

Arroyo let Iassogna hear all about it too. (Warning: Video has NSFW language)

The broadcast microphones picked up the exchange between Arroyo and Iassogna, which is always fun. Arroyo shouted, “That’s (expletive) away. That’s not a (expletive) strike. That’s (expletive) two of ’em.”

Iassogna didn’t eject Arroyo there, but he did stand by his call … even though Arroyo appeared to be right.

You can’t blame Arroyo for being angry after that. Good on Iassogna for not tossing Arroyo, though. We’ve seen umpires react dramatically for much less.

A frustrated Manny Machado became the first MLB player to get ejected over a clock violation

The MLB rules are going just great.

With the new MLB rules, players knew they were going to need to make adjustments — particularly when it comes to a hitter’s at-bat routine. The days of adjusting batting gloves for 20 seconds are over, and Manny Machado learned that the hard way on Tuesday.

The Padres star was ejected during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks after he was initially called for a clock violation and automatic third strike. The new MLB rules require hitters to be in the box and alert to the pitch by the eight-second mark. Replays showed that Machado was adjusting his batting gloves before attempting to call time right at eight seconds.

As home plate umpire Ron Kulpa tried to explain to Machado that the timeout wasn’t signaled in time (clock already showed eight seconds when the hand raised), manager Bob Melvin came out from the dugout in an attempt to cool down Machado.

By then, it was too late. Machado had choice words for Kulpa who quickly signaled the ejection.

But hey, if you’re going to get ejected, at least make it meaningful. Machado made history as the first player to get ejected over the pitch clock in the regular season.

Umpire Laz Diaz got booed for popping a balloon on the field and then immediately missed a call

Hater of fun and correct calls.

It wouldn’t be Opening Day without a blatant reminder that Major League umpires hate fun. A balloon didn’t stand a chance in the path of umpire Laz Diaz.

During Thursday’s opener between the Giants and Yankees, a stray balloon made its way onto the field and floated around towards home plate.

Diaz could have just handed the balloon to the bat boy, and everyone could have just moved on with the game. But Diaz had a different take on the Ump Show. He picked up the balloon (after initially struggling to corral it) and popped it right there with a very aggressive grip. And, of course, he missed the call on the next pitch.

I love how Yankee Stadium booed Diaz for popping the balloon. Like, was that really necessary? It made the bat boy’s job harder because now he had to pick up the debris.

But man, if you’re going to pop a balloon with your bare hands, you at least need to call balls and strikes accurately. Diaz did not. Josh Donaldson was called out on strikes on a pitch that missed the plate outside, and he understandably wasn’t pleased.

MLB fans were also not kind to Diaz after that sequence.

Fans were furious after a college umpire intentionally made a horrendous strikeout call as retaliation

An absolute disgrace.

The absolute worst thing an umpire can do is jeopardize a game’s integrity. Mistakes happen — it’s part of the human element of baseball. But there’s a huge difference between a missed call in good faith and what we saw during Friday’s New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State baseball game.

Home plate umpire Reggie Drummer made it personal and intentionally called a third strike that was nowhere near the plate to end the game. And now, he has been suspended indefinitely.

The call came with Davon Mims at the plate. He didn’t love a called second strike from Drummer and visibly showed his frustration. While Mims did react in a way that does often get players ejected, Drummer had no excuse for how he responded.

The called third strike, which was at least a foot off the plate and low, ended the game. Drummer knew exactly what he did with that call, and the Southland Conference didn’t wait long to take action.

The indefinite suspension was absolutely warranted. But honestly, Drummer shouldn’t umpire another college baseball game after showing that he’ll put his personal feelings ahead of his duty of calling a legitimate game.

Fans also wanted to see the umpire fired. You simply cannot have behavior like that from an umpire.

Rob Manfred confirmed that the automated strike zone is coming to MLB ‘in one form or another’

It’s happening.

We already know that Major League Baseball is going to look very different next season with a pitch clock, shift ban and larger bases going into effect for 2023. But the most overdue change of all actually appears to be on the horizon for MLB:

Robot umps!

Over the past few seasons, MLB has experimented with an automated strike zone (ABS) at the minor-league level. And the results have been overwhelmingly positive. With ABS, the umpire is still stationed behind the plate to signal balls and strikes (and call plays at the plate), but the umpire is no longer tasked with judging a strike zone. There has also been a challenge-based system tested that combines the human element and ABS.

On Monday, commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed that one of those systems is going to come to MLB — he just didn’t say when.

In all likelihood, we’re still a few years away from ABS in Major League Baseball as it was not listed as a potential rule change in the latest CBA. But there are mechanisms to get it in place sooner, and given the well-documented struggles from MLB umpires, change is needed in the worst way.

And honestly, the challenge system seems like an easy compromise here depending on how many ball-strike challenges are allowed per game.

MLB fans, of course, had thoughts on these latest remarks from Manfred.

Umpire Adrian Johnson actually ejected Robbie Ray and Luke Weaver over pregame standoff

Ump hates fun.

Pitchers Robbie Ray and Luke Weaver were teammates in Arizona for a couple seasons, and that friendship clearly carried on to their new spots with the Mariners and Royals.

But we have now learned that there is no place for friendly competition when umpire Adrian Johnson is around.

Ahead of Sunday’s game between the Mariners and Royals, both Ray and Weaver stood at the dugout steps to have a good, old-fashioned national anthem standoff. And the two players were so committed to the standoff that the umpires had to get involved.

The two pitchers probably didn’t expect the umpires to take the standoff so seriously, but Johnson could not have been more annoyed.

After Johnson initially told them to cut it out and go to the dugout with little success, the umpire actually ejected both players. We could see as he made note in his scorebook, and Ray didn’t seem to realize it as he was celebrating the standoff victory. They announced the ejection in the press box as well.

You don’t see that happen too often.

Ray wasn’t scheduled to start on Sunday, and it was unlikely that Weaver was going to see action. So, the ejections didn’t have any impact on the game. MLB fans did use the ordeal as an opportunity to roast the umpire, though. It was another example of baseball getting in its own way when it comes to fun displays of personality.

Angel Hernandez managed to mess up first play of the Mets-Marlins game with a nonsensical call

No other ump would EVER make that call.

When it comes to over-thinking as an umpire, Angel Hernandez really can’t help himself. He can take a simple play and send an entire game off the rails by inserting himself into the action.

On Sunday, he only needed one play for that to happen.

In the first inning of the Mets’ game against the Marlins, Brandon Nimmo appeared to get things started with a lead-off triple to the left-center gap. The ball rolled to the wall and came to a stop under the wall’s padding. Now, if the ball is lodged in the padding, the fielders are told to signal an “out of play” to the umpires by holding up their arms. Neither Jerar Encarnacion nor JJ Bleday did that here.

Bleday immediately reached for the ball, picked it up with no problem and threw towards third.

Hernandez — the furthest umpire from the play at home — called the play dead as a ground-rule double. Hernandez might have viewed Encarnacion pointing to third as some sort of “out of play” signal, but that really wasn’t what happened at all.

The Mets should have had a lead-off triple, but they had to settle for a double because Hernandez felt the need to make a call that no other umpire would make in that situation.

No wonder MLB fans were not impressed with the embattled umpire.