Friday, September 29, 2023

MLB Ejection 238 - Phil Cuzzi (5; Will Benson)

HP Umpire Phil Cuzzi ejected Reds RF Will Benson (strike three call; QOCY) in the top of the 8th inning of the #Cardinals-#Reds game. With two out and one on, Reds batter Benson took a 2-2 fastball from Cardinals pitcher Jacob Barnes for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the heart of home plate and at the hollow of the knee (px -0.12, pz 1.69 [sz_bot 1.81 / RAD 1.69]), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Reds were leading, 19-2. The Reds ultimately won the contest, 19-2.

This is Phil Cuzzi (10)'s 5th ejection of 2023.
This pitch was located 1.00 vertical inches from being deemed incorrect.

This is the 238th ejection report of the 2023 MLB regular season.
This is the 95th player ejection of 2023. Ejection Tally: 108 Managers, 95 Players, 34 Coaches.
This is Cincinnati's 10th ejection of 2023, T-2nd in the NL Central (STL 14; CIN, PIT 10; CHC, MIL 8).
This is Will Benson's 1st career MLB ejection.
This is Phil Cuzzi's 5th ejection of 2023, 1st since Sept 19 (Alex Cintron; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

Thursday, September 28, 2023

MLB Ejection 237 - Angel Hernandez (1; Bryce Harper)

3B Umpire Angel Hernandez ejected Phillies 1B Bryce Harper (check swing strike three call) in the bottom of the 3rd inning of the #Pirates-#Phillies game. With one out and none on, Harper attempted to check his swing on a 3-2 slider from Pirates pitcher Luis Ortiz, ruled a ball by HP Umpire James Hoye and called a swinging strike on appeal by 3B Umpire Hernandez. At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 1-1. The Pirates ultimately won the contest, 3-2.

This is Angel Hernandez (5)'s 1st ejection of 2023.

This is the 237th ejection report of the 2023 MLB regular season.
This is the 95th player ejection of 2023. Ejection Tally: 108 Managers, 95 Players, 34 Coaches.
This is Philadelphia's 12th ejection of 2023, 2nd in the NL East (MIA 16; PHI 12; NYM 6; ATL 4; WAS 3).
This is Bryce Harper's 4th ejection of 2023, 1st since Sept 15 (Alex Tosi; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Angel Hernandez's 1st ejection since April 24, 2022 (Kyle Schwarber; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

MLB Ejections 235-6 - Ramon De Jesus (6-7; MIA x2)

HP Umpire Ramon De Jesus ejected Marlins DH Jake Burger and manager Skip Schumaker (strike three call; QOCN) in the top of the 7th inning of the #Marlins-#Mets game. With two out and the bases loaded, Marlins batter Burger took a 1-2 fastball from Mets pitcher Phil Bickford for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located off the outer edge of home plate and waist-high (px 0.97, pz 2.94), the call was incorrect.* At the time of the ejections, the game was tied, 2-2. The Marlins ultimately won the contest, 4-2.

These are Ramon De Jesus (18)'s 6th and 7th ejections of 2023.
*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.

These are the 235th and 236th ejection reports of the 2023 MLB regular season.
This is the 94th player ejection of 2023. 108th manager ejection of 2023.
Ejection Tally: 108 Managers, 94 Players, 34 Coaches.
This is Miami's 15/16th ejection of 2023, 1st in the NL East (MIA 16; PHI 11; NYM 6; ATL 4; WAS 3).
This is Jake Burger's first career MLB ejection.
This is Skip Schumaker's 5th ejection of 2023, 1st since Aug 9 (Bill Miller; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Ramon De Jesus' 6/7th ejection of 2023, 1st since Aug 7 (Chris Morel; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

MLB Ejection 234 - Dan Bellino (6; Brian Snitker)

3B Umpire Dan Bellino ejected Braves manager Brian Snitker (foul ball no-call by HP Umpire Shane Livensparger; QOCN) in the top of the 2nd inning of the #Cubs-#Braves game. With one out and two on, Cubs batter Jeimer Candelario took a first-pitch fastball from Braves pitcher Darius Vines for a called first strike, ruled a passed ball by catcher Sean Murphy that allowed Cubs baserunner R3 Cody Bellinger to score and R1 Seiya Suzuki to advance to second base. Replays indicate the pitched ball first made contact with the batter's bat before passing the catcher, the call was incorrect. At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 1-1. The Braves ultimately won the contest, 6-5, in 10 innings.

This is Dan Bellino (2)'s 6th ejection of 2023.

This is the 234th ejection report of the 2023 MLB regular season.
This is the 107th manager ejection of 2023. Ejection Tally: 107 Managers, 93 Players, 34 Coaches.
This is Atlanta's 4th ejection of 2023, 4th in the NL East (MIA 14; PHI 11; NYM 6; ATL 4; WAS 3).
This is Brian Snitker's 6th ejection of 2023, 1st since Sept 9 (Bill Miller; QOC = U [USC-NEC]).
This is Dan Bellino's 6th ejection of 2023, 1st since July 26 (Martin Maldonado; QOC = U [Fighting]).

Wrap: Chicago Cubs vs Atlanta Braves, 9/27/23 | Video as follows:

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

That Time SF Scored On Barry Bonds' Infield Fly Rule Play

San Francisco scored a tying run on a pop fly in front of home plate when the defense seemingly forgot or didn't know the infield fly rule and tagged the base instead of the runner attempting to score in this throwback to Barry Bonds' oddest run-producing hit in 2003.

With one out and the bases loaded in the 5th inning on May 13, 2003, Giants batter Bonds hit a fair fly ball, which Montreal infielders failed to catch. HP Umpire Jim Joyce, however, had signaled "Infield Fly, If Fair" and when the ball dropped and was touched in fair territory, Giants baserunner R3 Neifi Perez slyly jogged home from third base, waiting for the Expos to clear the way and subtly stepping on home plate, scoring the tying run for San Francisco.

As soon as HP Umpire Joyce signaled R3 Perez safe, the Montreal infield turned to argue with the umpire as Giants trailing runners R2 Marquis Grissom and R1 Rich Aurilia advanced to third and second base, respectively.

When Expos Manager Frank Robinson emerged from his dugout and strode to home plate, he yelled not at Joyce, but at his players, for failing to know the infield fly rule.

To review, the infield fly rule's core criteria are:
> Less than two out;
> Runners on first and second or bases loaded;

and the call is effectuated when
> The batter hits a fair fly ball that can be caught by an infielder employing ordinary effort.

After Joyce signaled the infield fly (if fair), then pointed the ball fair when it was touched on the bounce, he signaled batter-runner Bonds out, thus removing the force play on all baserunners (with no batter-runner in the picture, the runners are no longer forced to advance and thus may remain at their original bases).

Montreal didn't appear to know the infield fly rule removes the force out, as fielders stepped on home plate, as if to try and force out R3 Perez. HP Umpire Joyce made no signal (as there was no call to make), only signaling "safe" when R3 Perez successfully ran to and touched home plate without Montreal trying to tag his person.

And that's the story of how Barry Bonds drove in a run (although it was technically not an RBI) on an infield fly ball.

Video as follows: