baseballrules

The last week saw a number of unusual incidents involving MLB umpires. They were capped off by several odd events on Sunday. MLB is wrong. Umpiring has been bad throughout the season and seems to be getting worse. Players should be permitted to vent their criticism of calls on an off the filed, but do so in a professional way without name calling or antics. MLB umpires need to be disciplined and get more seasoning for repeated bad calls or judgements. MLB umpires also need to take a breath, let players and managers vent and back off to reduce the number of ejections. Fans pay to see the players not the umpires.

David Weathers, then of the Cincinnati Reds, was ejected from a game and the camera caught him turning to the umpire and saying a few words. Commenting on the ejection by home plate ump Paul Emmel, Weathers commented, “I said ‘why are you staring at me?’ He said ‘you’re outta here.’”

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Houston Astros relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins said he was fined an undisclosed amount for critical comments he made against an umpire while the team played in Chicago. Hawkins received a letter from baseball vice president in charge of discipline Bob Watson informing him of the fine.

“I don’t think the fine is appropriate,” said Hawkins. “I won’t tell you how much I was fined, but it wasn’t appropriate. The punishment doesn’t fit the crime.”

Hawkins was ejected in the eighth inning of a July 27 loss to the Cubs for arguing balls and strikes and after the game criticized plate umpire Mike Everitt, saying he had made his mind up who was going to win the game. Hawkins was tossed after waving off Everitt during an argument.

“I hadn’t said anything,” Hawkins said. “He said I made a gesture, and for him to fine me about the gesture, he [must have] thought it was an obscene gesture, right, and it wasn’t. I stand by what I said. It’s America. I know I play in MLB and have rules and stuff I have to follow, but if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”

“He was fined an undisclosed amount for his media outburst on the umpiring, and we can’t have our players, coaches and managers and team personnel making those kinds of comments,” Watson said.

Watson had said previously players can’t question the integrity of the game’s umpires.

“Why not? Why not?” Hawkins said. “He questioned my integrity by what I was doing by doing like that [waving his hand at the umpire]. He questioned my integrity. I made a gesture towards the umpires. This is a gesture [waving his left hand]? You don’t know that means. That could mean, ‘Drop it, let’s go.’”

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In the New York Yankees sweep of the Boston Red Sox this weekend, several batters on both sides got hit. But, many are scratching their heads about the tossing of Red Sox pitcher Ramon Ramirez the other night for hitting a batter. Home plate umpire Jim Joyce didn’t give any warnings. He just gave the pitcher the thumb. Even Yankees fans said it was wrong.

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Lou Piniella was tossed for arguing a play at second base. He said that on a double play, the opposing infield missed second base. The replay showed the fielder wasn’t even close. The second base umpire, Chris Guccione, blew the call. He should be suspended for a bad call and covering it up by hiding behind his right to eject Piniella for complaining.

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Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies was ejected from his center-field position in the top of the seventh inning by home-plate umpire Ed Rapuano.

Rapuano said that after he called a ball on Rodrigo Lopez’s 0-2 offering to Marlins third baseman Wes Helms, he saw Victorino waving his arms in disapproval. The umpire then stepped toward the outfield and gestured as a warning.

Then he saw Victorino wave his arms a second time. So without hesitation, Rapuano pointed again at Victorino and this time delivered the ejection signal.

“I gave him the chance to not do it again,” said Rapuano, who has 18 1/2 years of Major League service time. “He’s right in the line of sight and he’s out in front of everybody, waving his arms in disgust of a pitch that I called. It is very simple.”

Victorino recalled only gesturing once.

“I’ve got to hold myself accountable,” Victorino said following the Phillies’ 12-3 loss. “It’s not something that you should be doing, but I’ve done it 1,000 times this year. It’s not the first time — and I’m not trying to show anybody up. Just things got built up from the half-inning before that, and it’s just one of those things I let my emotions get the best of me.”

Rapuano also said that Charlie Manuel, Phillies manager, agreed with the ejection call.

Manuel said he did not.

“I didn’t see where there was no sense in me getting thrown out of the game for it, but at the same time, I didn’t agree with him,” Manuel said. “You know something? I’ll stand up for my players. I always have and I always will. But at the same time, I saw what Shane was doing.”

And what he saw, he apparently did not like.

“You’re going to get thrown out of the game,” Manuel said. “You don’t do things that basically have an effect on the game, that’s going to hurt the game.”

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