Thursday, August 23, 2012

Ejections 136, 137: Wally Bell (1, 2)

HP Umpire Wally Bell ejected Twins P Scott Diamond and Manager Ron Gardenhire for throwing at Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton in the bottom of the 3rd inning of the Twins-Rangers game. With one out and one on in the top of the 3rd inning, Twins batter Joe Mauer was hit by a 3-0 Roy Oswalt pitch. With one out and none on in the bottom of the frame, Diamond's first pitch to Hamilton sailed high and inside toward Hamilton's head. Though the pitch did not hit Hamilton, Rule 8.02(d)(1) enjoins umpires to expel the pitcher or manager and pitcher from the game if, in his judgment, the pitcher has intentionally pitched at the batter. Rule 8.02(d) Comment futher specifies that pitching at a batter's head is unsportsmanlike, condemned and highly dangerous. Gardenhire was ejected disputing the ejection and disputing Bell's decision not to issue warnings after Oswalt hit Mauer, which is a prohibited argument pursuant to the terms of Rule 8.02(d) Comment, the call was irrecusable. At the time of the ejections, the contest was tied, 2-2. The Rangers ultimately won the contest, 10-6.

These are Wally Bell (35)'s first and second ejections of 2012.
Wally Bell now has 4 points in the UEFL (0 Previous + 2*[2 MLB + 0 Irrecusable Call] = 4).
Crew Chief Wally Bell now has 3 points in the UEFL's Crew Division (1 Previous + 2*[1 Irrecusable] = 3).

UEFL Standings Update

These are the 136th and 137th ejections of 2012.
This is the 57th player ejection of 2012. Prior to his ejection, Diamond had 2.1 IP with 2 ER.
This is the 67th Manager ejection of 2012.
This is the Twins' 6th ejection of 2012, T-3rd in the AL Central (DET 9; KC 7; CLE, MIN 6; CWS 5).
This is Scott Diamond's first career ejection.
This is Ron Gardenhire's first ejection since May 25 (Alan Porter; QOC = Incorrect).
This is Wally Bell's first ejection since August 16, 2011 (Tony Sipp; QOC = Incorrect).

Wrap: Twins at Rangers, 8/23/12
Video: After Joe Mauer is plunked, Diamond throws over Hamilton's head, leading to ejections (MIN Feed)

34 comments :

Turducken said...

Good anticipation, good call. Love that stache!

Anonymous said...

See, this announcer is pretty biased, sure, but at least he "gets" the game of baseball unlike some... This IS old-school baseball. You throw at my guy, I aim for your superstar's head. And yes, as was said on the broadcast, everyone in the park -- at least everyone tuned into the pro game -- knew what was coming. Hamilton was going to get pegged (or they would try to drill him). But as for enforcing the rules of the sport of baseball, Bell is doing the job MLB wants him to and for that, he should be commended.

UmpsRule said...

Rather unusual for the announcers to be this fair to the umpire after a situation like this. I agree that Bell probably wasn't too thrilled about what he knew he was going to have to do.

UmpsRule said...

To clarify, Bell did not do the wrong thing. Diamond was wrong to throw at Hamilton's head and he should (and likely will) be suspended.

UmpsRule said...

Also, the color commenter mentions that Bell had a chance to issue warnings. If he had issued warnings after the Mauer hit-by-pitch, Gardenhire would have gone ballistic and that announcer likely would have too. If he was referring to issuing warnings after Diamond threw behind Hamilton's head, forget it. When you throw at someone's head in an obvious retaliatory move, you have to know what will happen.

wwjd said...

Even though Wally ejects diamond he still could've issued warnings and probly should have

Anonymous said...

Unless the Mauer was thrown at up high like that when he was plunked, Hamilton should not have been thrown at up high. Just a good plunking in the ribs may have only brought out the warnings since they would be even, but up head high gets the heave ho.

Anonymous said...

Admitted non-umpire with only a basic understanding of the rules here, but I have a question for you all.

I know that, according to the rules, Bell had no choice but to eject Diamond. But why doesn't Oswalt get thrown out for the same reason? Everyone in the ballpark knew Oswalt threw that pitch at Mauer on purpose. It seems like it always goes down like this now...the team that starts it goes unpunished, and the team that retaliates gets ejections. It seems like they need a more consistent approach to these situations.

Anonymous said...

Also, seriously here, what the hell is Oswalt doing throwing at Mauer in the first place? Did Mauer ever show up or disrespect the Rangers in any way? The announcers mentioned that it might be because Mauer has had "a lot of success in this ballpark." If that's the reason, it's a pathetic, punk ass reason, and why shouldn't Oswalt get the same suspension that Diamond will? Throwing at a guy because he showed your team up or hit your guy is still reckless and unsportsmanlike, but doing it just because he's good? Very childish.

Double Down for Donuts said...

If he didn't warn Oswalt who actually HIT someone, I think that at least warnings should have been issued when Diamond intentionally MISSED Hamilton.

Anonymous said...

"Hamilton was going to get pegged (or they would try to drill him)."

But that's just it. He DIDN'T hit anyone.

Anonymous said...

What a crock. MLB does not want Bell to keep the guy who hit one batter and toss the guy who misses.

Here's a better outcome, both pitchers and both managers, fines and suspensions to boot. Then I bet you can get rid of this old school crap. I'm old school too, and there's just no place for unnecessary injuries, which is gonna happen.

All you guys who talk technical this or that are too into the rule book and not enough into game flow--stop and think of the stuff you're spewing! He did what MLB wants? Bull!!! MLB wants the ump to know when an 8-figure pitcher misses head high and 4 feet inside to a multi-time batting champ that he's being a chimp. If MLB doesn't suspend oswalt...but wait, the rangers might have a post season, can't do that. MLB is old school that way!!!

JohnShulockFan said...

Wally nailed it.

Anonymous said...

If you watch the replays where you can see the pitchers after they throw the pitches, Oswalt flinches after he hits Mauer and appears to attempt to apologize. Diamond throws at Hamilton's head and then acts like that is where he meant to throw it, when he should have aimed lower. In my opinion, that is why Oswalt was not ejected and Diamond was.

Anonymous said...

This is Wally being Wally, and by that I mean being one of the best in the game.

Wally goes under the radar a lot of the year, usually because he is always so good. Need more umpires like him in MLB.

Anonymous said...

This was textbook "situation handling" by Wally Bell. In my opinion, he should have taken a few more steps when walking into the EJ mechanic of Gardenhire...just for effect. Good job by the old pro.

Anonymous said...

You know the drill... pitcher hits (or throws at) batter, pitcher ejected, manger goes ballistic. Any manager who argues this should be automatically suspended ten games for we all know the ruling will not be changed. Remember Gardy argued an instant replay call last year after the umpires went to replay.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 10:36, so Oswalt gets to stay because he's a better actor than Diamond?

Big Marc said...

That was Ron Coomer with great commments. Wally didn't want to eject. Don't hear inside stuff like that too often. I actually really don't think Coomer is all that great, but he just went up in my book.
Bell is a G-D pro. Class act, tough as nails. Wally is way way way under rated.

Anonymous said...

Maybe umpires who never were baseball players like and agree with this but as a former player this is garbage. Oswalt can drill my star on purpose only 6 inches from his neck/back of head but then my pitcher throws one at their star and gets ran. Why didn't Oswalt get thrown out? Umpires always miss the first one but get the second one right, and then they get commended for it. If Oswalt was ran like he should have been then the Twins wouldn't have had to retaliate. However, since Bell did nothing the Twins took care of business then the idiot Bell does something.

Anonymous said...

Blah, blah, blah....miss the first one, get the second one....blah, blah, blah...whatever. Your dumba$$ rookie through it over Hamilton's head that's why he got run. If he runs it up and in and "hits" him in the ribs he maybe gets warned. Wally Bell isn't stupid. By the way...do you think Wash sits in the dugout and doesn't say something if a dumba$$ rookie throws one over your golden boy's head? By the way, Gardenhire is his usual clownshow self.

JeremyJ said...

I actually watched the entire game prior to Mauer getting hit, and the Minnesota announcer is dead ass wrong, he had no control prior to that. Oswalt is and was a good pitcher with great control, but not that night. He was throwing like shit, I'm not saying there's no way he did that on purpose, but if you look at the Pitch f/x, up to that point, he's not having a good night.

MLB has made the decision that they don't want to see anybody hurt in retaliation and want it cracked down on. Should Bell have issued a warning? Maybe, but he probably thought the same as everybody else, Oswalt didn't do it entirely on purpose, they'll come back, plunk somebody else on the back and then he'll issue warnings and that'll be the end of it. Instead, Diamond, threw behind Hamilton's head, which should always be a no-no, which is what got him run. Gardenhire was going to get run the second he stepped out of the dugout and knew it.

Good call, and game management on Bell's part. Always a pro, even though this his crews' third ejection in two days.

SPballsandstrikes said...

Had team been warned Gardy would have been thrown out because he hates when warnings are issued and has been ejected in the past upon warnings being issued.

No Warnings been issued,and he gets tossed..I guess he changes with the wind.

The announcers are quite fair in this. "Bell is the right guy to have." Not everyday you hear announcers say something like that.

Well done,Wally!

Anonymous said...

All the pitcher had to do was hit the batter in the back or lower, because once you aim for the head you are done. If he would of tried to hit the batter lower they would both still be in the game and warnings would of been given to both benches.

Anonymous said...

"Anytime in an umpire's judgment they go in the head area, we have to take care of business. I felt at the time that he had to be ejected for it," Bell said.

MattAB said...

As a Twins fan I'm probably a bit biased, but I do feel like the Twins announcers are generally pretty fair to umpires. Dick Bremer has always been a class act, and even under the most egregious circumstances will rarely, if ever, criticize an umpire. Ron Coomer was filling in for Bert Blyleven, and they are both pretty fair usually as well. They can occasionally get critical, but they are usually pretty mild about it, and always try to keep their comments in perspective. As for the actual ejection, this was just mighty dumb on Diamond's part, to throw at Hamilton's head. I agree that if he hits Hamilton in the back warnings are probably issued, and that is most likely the end of it. As a Twins fan, I like Gardy, but he has a tendency to look pretty dumb on some of the EJs, including this one.

Anonymous said...

@anon 4:45

Maybe players who never were umpires like and agree with this but as an umpire, that's garbage.

Do you really want a world where a umpires throw out a team's 5 million dollar star pitcher in the third inning on hist first HBP of the game????? When Mauer had done nothing previously that would have shown intent on Oswalt's part. Wally Bell would have had to run the whole Rangers dugout if he had thrown out Oswald right then! Umpires can't predict the future. We also can't eject the pitcher for every HBP. We step back and let the game police itself in most cases until somebody does something stupid (like throw behind someone's head!!!) that forces us to step in and nip it in the bud. Anyone who knows anything about the game knows that if Diamond hits him between the numbers, warnings are issued, Rangers don't get to retaliate and everything's even-steven. He forced Bell's hand because of the placement of the throw. Get a clue.

Anonymous said...

From a person who grew up dieing with the Twins and is a current NCAA and hopeful future MiLB and MLB umpire I gotta go with Bell on this. He had to toss Diamond and Gardy will always back up his guys. I think if Diamond were to have gone for the lower back Bell probably would have still tossed him.

Warnings after Diamond threw at Hamilton probably would have earned Bell an earful from Ron Washington instead.

I think Gardy would not have argued if Bell had warned after Mauer got hit. It seemed as if he was barking about that to Bell.

I personally love to listen to the Twins broadcasters.

The 2 that were heard on the clip were Dick Bremer and former Twin Ron Coomer who was filling in for HOFer Bert Blyleven

Coomer had a long career so if anyone knows about what goes on inside the game he would.

I may be biased also but I agree with MattAB. I've only ever heard the Twins broadcasters criticize umpires when they thought the umpire was wrong and even then they just make a statement like, "I think he missed that one."

tmac said...

i've seen a lot of compliments lately for wally and cubby *(fielden).. I've seen many people say there should be more umpires like them!! The compliments are very deserved but MLB/MILB doesn't give a fair shake to umpires who are a little heavier.. they prefer tall thin and more muscular build.. TRUST me there are too many umpires working college and the like just b/c MLB was worried about weight... we are still not too removed from Eric Gregg but it really stems from the John MCsherry incident.

Big Marc said...

Sorry tmac, but c'mon man! McSherry is the spelling. I get a little offended with any slight to John, this one is tiny.
John was, and is, the greatest ball and strike man to ever live hands down. (John had the plate the nite Reggie hit 3)
John was that heavy from the start of his career. For MLB, even at that time, to look the other way regarding his weight, speaks volumes about his plate work. Certainly, it wasn't the bases that got him to the Bigs.
They even went so far as make special mechanics to help John.
For MLB to say we don't care if he weighs 400lbs says to me, John was not only the best, he had no equal. A skinny kid, almost as good or even with John would get the nod.
John was the best, and he never forgot his partners he had in the minors. Even going so far as to say 1 year before he died, by name, who were the men who helped him to the Bigs.
(Steve Palermo, 2nd best plate man of all time)

UmpsRule said...

Diamond is suspended six games:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/19899915/mlb-suspends-twins-scott-diamond-6-games-for-throwing-at-josh-hamilton

Brett said...

Let me run this down, Mauer gets hit on 3-0 pitch. Why would there be a warning? No reason, the game will police itself. The area of the hit by pitch does not matter. Hamilton surely expected he was going to get hit. The pitch needs to be in the center of the back. Pitch comes in and nearly takes his head off. Diamond is dumped for throwing at his head not just for throwing at him. If the pitch is in his back, Bell would have just issued warnings. Problem here is the youngster misses location. As for the announcers, most are total hacks when it comes to rules and umpires. Take some time, speak to umpires and learn the rules so you do not sound like a tool. "Old School" baseball still exists, you just have to perform the action correctly. throwing at the head is immediate and the league dropped the hammer on him as they should have. Nice job by Wally. Very solid umpire.

Anonymous said...

Two things about this. One, I don't thing oswalts hit him on purpose. You don't try to throw at a guy with a runner on second and a tie game, esp that high. If Mauer ducked (like Hamilton) the runner would have moved to third. Second, a pitch over the head of a batter is likely to get you tossed regardless of what happened earlier. You don't throw that high period

Anonymous said...

aj pierzynski and robin ventura just got ejected by Lance Barrett

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