NEWSLETTER
I’ve said it before – recently, in fact – but umpires are humans who are asked to do an almost impossible job, and they are going to make mistakes. I don’t love it, especially when the technology exists to call balls and strikes, but this is the system for now, and thus we have to be a little forgiving of human error.
BUT! It’s also true that if an umpire makes a terrible call or two, he’s gotta have a little more flexibility when it comes to players beefing. If you screw up, OK, but give the players/managers/coaches a little leash to let you hear about it. That ejection trigger finger cannot be so quick.
For example, Anthony Rizzo, who was screwed on a couple low strike calls, barely saying anything during a subsequent Giancarlo Stanton at bat and getting immediately tossed from the dugout:
"I'm better than that! You know I'm better than that."
Anthony Rizzo gets ejected for the third time in his career. He watched two bad strike calls go by then argued when the same pitch was called a ball to the next batter pic.twitter.com/quddnrKvmK
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 19, 2022
You can probably guess what Rizzo said to the ump: same pitch. That was all he said, and it got him tossed with a quickness.
After the game, Rizzo explained what happened, and warned that if what he did merits an ejection, then there will be ejections all over the place going forward:
Anthony Rizzo voices his frustration with alleged miscalls that led to his ejection in the late innings of the game. pic.twitter.com/Tf3IGl2sWj
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) May 19, 2022
Rizzo also said that he felt like the umpire called a second low strike on him because Rizzo had stepped out after a first low strike call. It was as if, from Rizzo’s perspective, the umpire was just being spiteful, trying to prove that the low strike was his strike zone. So then when it wasn’t called to Stanton, you could understand why Rizzo got upset.
And then to boot him immediately after he said it was the same pitch to Stanton? Way too itchy on the trigger finger.
