Saturday, June 18, 2022

MLB Ejection 070 - Jim Reynolds (1; Andrew Bailey)

1B Umpire Jim Reynolds ejected Giants pitching coach Andrew Bailey (check swing call) in the bottom of the 5th inning of the #Giants-#Pirates game. With two out and one on (R1), Pirates batter Diego Castillo attempted to check his swing on a 1-2 slider from Giants pitcher Alex Wood for a called second ball by HP Umpire John Libka, affirmed as no swing on appeal by 1B Umpire Reynolds. This play is under review by the UEFL Appeals Board, the call was *PENDING*. At the time of the ejection, the Pirates were leading, 4-3. The Giants ultimately won the contest, 7-5.

This is Jim Reynolds (77)'s 1st ejection of 2022.
Jim Reynolds now has ? points in the UEFL Standings.
Crew Chief Jim Reynolds now has ? points in Crew Division.

This is the 70th MLB ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.
This is San Francisco's 2nd ejection of 2022, 3rd in the NL West (ARI, SD 3; SF 2; LAD 1; COL 0).
This is Andrew Bailey's first career MLB ejection.
This is Jim Reynolds' 1st ejection since May 18, 2021 (Rocco Baldelli; QOC = U [Throwing At]).

Wrap: San Francisco Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 6/18/22 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 069 - Adam Beck (3; Jazz Chisholm)

HP Umpire Adam Beck ejected Marlins 2B Jazz Chisholm (strike three call; QOCN) in the top of the 9th inning of the #Marlins-#Mets game. With none out and one on (R1), Marlins batter Chisholm took a 1-2 fastball from Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located off the inner edge of home plate and thigh-high (px 0.97, pz 2.44), the call was incorrect. At the time of the ejection, the Mets were leading, 3-1. The Mets ultimately won the contest, 3-2.


This is Adam Beck (102)'s 3rd ejection of 2022.
Adam Beck now has -4 points in the UEFL Standings (-2 Prev + 2 AAA - 4 Incorrect Call = -4).
Crew Chief Alan Porter now has -1 points in Crew Division (0 Previous + -1 Incorrect Call = -1).
*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.
This pitch was located 0.67 horizontal inches from being deemed correct.

This is the 69th ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.
This is the 22nd player ejection of 2022. Prior to ejection, Chisholm was 0-3 (2 SO) in the contest.
This is Miami's 4th ejection of 2022, T-1st in the NL East (MIA, WAS 4; PHI 2; ATL, NYM 1).
This is Jazz Chisholm's first career MLB ejection.
This is Adam Beck's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since May 11 (Alex Cora; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Miami Marlins vs. New York Mets, 6/18/22 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 068 - Ryan Wills (1; Charlie Montoyo)

1B Umpire Ryan Wills ejected Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo (check swing HBP call) in the top of the 4th inning of the #Yankees-#BlueJays game. With two out and one on (R2), Yankees batter Jose Trevino attempted to check his swing on a 0-1 sinker from Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah ruled a hit-by-pitch by HP Umpire Ryan Additon and affirmed as no swing on appeal by 1B Umpire Wills. Play was reviewed and adjudicated by the UEFL Appeals Board (7-2), the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Yankees were leading, 3-0. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 4-0.

This is Ryan Wills (118)'s 1st ejection of 2022.
Ryan Wills now has ? points in the UEFL Standings.
Crew Chief Mark Carlson now has ? points in Crew Division.

This is the 68th ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.
This is the 36th manager ejection of 2022.
This is Toronto's 6th ejection of 2022, 1st in the AL East (TOR 6; NYY 4; BOS, TB 3; BAL 2).
This is Charlie Montoyo's 4th ejection of 2022, 1st since May 10 (Lance Barrett; QOC = U [NEC]).
This is Ryan Wills' 1st ejection since Sept 4, 2021 (Dave Martinez; QOC = Y [Check Swing]).

Wrap: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 6/18/22 | Video as follows:

Friday, June 17, 2022

MLB Ejection 067 - Dan Iassogna (1; Dave Martinez)

2B Umpire Dan Iassogna ejected Nationals manager Dave Martinez (obstruction call by 3B Umpire John Bacon; QOCN) in the top of the 10th inning of the #Phillies-#Nationals game. With one out and two on (R2, R3), Phillies batter JT Realmuto hit a 1-1 sinker from Nationals pitcher Steve Cishek for a ground ball up the middle scoring both Nationals baserunners after a collision beyond second base between Phillies baserunner R2 Rhys Hoskins and Nationals shortstop Luis Garcia, ruled obstruction (type 2) by 3B Umpire Bacon, who awarded R2 Hoskins home plate, scoring a run. Replays indicate the collision occurred as shortstop Garcia dove for, and was in the act of fielding, the batted ball; therefore, the right-of-way rules give fielder Garcia priority consideration pursuant to Official Baseball Rule 6.01(a)(10). This is interference by the runner, the call was incorrect.* At the time of the ejection, the Phillies were leading, 8-6. The Phillies ultimately won the contest, 8-7, in 10 innings.

This is Dan Iassogna (58)'s 1st ejection of 2022.
Dan Iassogna now has 0 points in the UEFL Standings (0 Prev + 2 MLB - 2 Incorrect-Crewmate = 0).
Crew Chief Dan Iassogna now has 2 points in Crew Division (2 Previous + 0 Incorrect = 2).
OBR 6.01(a)(10): "It is interference by a batter or runner when—He fails to avoid a fielder who is attempting to field a batted ball, or intentionally interferes with a thrown ball."

This is the 67th ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.
This is the 35th manager ejection of 2022.
This is Washington's 4th ejection of 2022, 1st in the NL East (WAS 4; MIA 3; PHI 2; ATL, NYM 1).
This is Dave Martinez's 2nd ejection of 2022, 1st since June 4 (Gabe Morales; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Dan Iassogna's 1st ejection since July 2, 2021 (Don Mattingly; QOC = U [Throwing At]).

Wrap: Philadelphia Phillies vs Washington Nationals, 6/17/22 | Video as follows:

Ask UEFL - The 16-Minute Pitching Change or C'Mon Cuz

We received many requests to cover an odd situation in New York when Yankees manager Aaron Boone's attempt to effect a pitching change prompted a 16-minute delay as umpires consulted Replay HQ to determine its legality.

Tampa Bay batter Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch, leading to a brief injury delay.

As this was happening, Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake visited pitcher Miguel Castro on the mound.

HP Umpire Cory Blaser strode to the mound as the meeting broke up, and while returning to home plate noticed Tampa Bay had sent up Ji-Man Choi to pinch hit for due-up batter Isaac Paredes, signaling to the press box Choi's entry into the game.

Following this, but before a pitch was thrown, Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka walked back to the mound. After this meeting broke up, skipper Boone emerged from the dugout and attempted to make a pitching change, with umpires originally denying Boone's request due to a prohibited second mound visit during the same at-bat.

After a lengthy delay during which Crew Chief Phil Cuzzi consulted via headset with Replay Review, Boone was finally permitted to substitute pitcher Lucas Luetge into the game to replace Castro. The time between Arozarena's HBP and the first pitch to Choi was 16 minutes.

Analysis & Rules
: According to postgame comments from Cuzzi, the confusion pertained to when, in relation to Choi being announced as the pinch-hitter, Blake visited the mound. By rule, two mound visits during the same at-bat are prohibited but if the offense substitutes its batter between mound visits, then the second mound visit is legal (and requires removal of the pitcher due to it being the second mound visit of the inning).

The relevant rule is OBR 5.10(l)(4): "If a pinch-hitter is substituted for this batter, the manager or coach may make a second visit to the mound, but must remove the pitcher from the game."

Replays clearly indicate HP Umpire Blaser signaled Choi's entry as the pinch-hitter after Blake's mound visit with Castro, which means that Blake's mound visit occurred while original batter Paredes was still in the game, while Boone's pitching change visit occurred during pinch hitter Choi's at-bat, the first such visit during Choi's at-bat. This is legal.
Sidebar: THIS right here is the reason plate umpires signal to the press box and scorekeeper when to make the public address announcement on substitute players. Timing is important and Blaser's signal clearly came well after Blake visited the mound.

OBR 5.10(j) states the substitute is considered officially in the game when the announcement is made. If no announcement is made, the player is officially in the game when..."[A batter] takes their place in the batter's box."

For the record, catcher Higashioka's trip to the mound after Choi's entry as the pinch hitter, by rule, is not considered a mound visit by a position player (as opposed to a coach's visit) due to the offensive substitution. The reference is Official Baseball Rule 5.10(m)(2)(D): "The following shall not constitute visits—Visits by position players to the mound after the announcement of an offensive substitution but prior to a subsequent pitch or play." This observation has no bearing on this particular play, since it pertains to coach's visits, but it is still notable relative to the limitation on team visits during a game.

Moral of the Story: Read your rulebooks | Video as follows:

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Injury Scout - Nate Tomlinson Takes Broken Bat to Face

HP Umpire Nate Tomlinson left Tuesday's #Angels-#Dodgers game in Los Angeles after a broken bat lacerated his face.

In the top of the 9th inning, with one out and none on, Angels batter Mike Trout hit a 3-2 fastball from Dodgers pitcher Craig Kimbrel into center field for a single, breaking his bat in the process. After the bat broke, the barrel end bounced into the back of Dodgers catcher Will Smith's head while the small, splintered handle end of the shattered bat pierced through the bars of Tomlinson's traditional-style facemask and cut Tomlinson's upper face, near his right eye, resulting in him leaving the ballgame.

The game resumed with three umpires as 2B Umpire and Crew Chief Laz Diaz took over behind home plate with 1B Umpire Dan Bellino and 3B Umpire Tripp Gibson remaining on the lines.

Relevant Injury History: There is no prior recorded face laceration history.

Last Game: June 14 | Return to Play: June 27 | Time Absent: 13 Days | Video as follows: