Sun Belt Suspends Umpires for Officiating Errors

Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson suspended four NCAA Division I baseball umpires for apparent erroneous judgment calls during Sunday's Wright State-Louisiana game in the wake of Louisiana head coach Tony Robichaux's ejection for arguing a reversed home run call in Wright State's 4-3 victory.

Pursuant to Game Misconduct Rule 2-5-15, Robichaux received a two-game suspension for his post-ejection actions. It is important to note that Robichaux's two-game suspension is a mandatory NCAA penalty, whereas the umpires' one-game suspensions were issued by the conference.

NCAA Baseball Rule 2-5-15-a-4 states:

No team personnel may continue to argue or to continue to excessively express themselves with prolonged actions or offensive language after an ejection. PENALTY—After an ejection an additional two-game suspension.

Robichaux's ejection followed a 7th inning fly ball to deep right-center field off the bat of Louisiana's Daniel Lahare, initially ruled a home run, but reversed to a double upon crew consultation. At the center of the debate was whether the ball hit the top of the outfield wall or whether it hit the trunk of a pine tree beyond the fence before caroming back into play.

According to the Ragin' Cajuns—who epitomized the team nickname on Sunday—the umpires erred on several calls, including an out call at home plate, a home run hit by Louisiana's Kole McKinnon that purportedly should have remained in play, and a game-ending play at first base that resulted in an out.

At his Tuesday press conference, Robichaux took responsibility for his team's "mediocre" start to the season, and said, "As I told them when I came out after the ejection...the umpires didn't do anything. We had runners at second and third...

"You've gotta own up to where you are and you can't start blaming anything. You have to have extreme ownership and from there, you have to up your conviction, not lower it...

"You've got so much low hanging fruit that you can hang onto right now, they could survive the rest of the year on it...If I went around blaming something on an umpire or injuries, who cares? Nobody wants to listen about your injuries; [we're] 2-5."

Commissioner Benson declined to comment on any specific play when announcing umpire suspensions:

The baseball umpire crew from the Wright State versus Louisiana series will be relieved of all duties for one game due to the multiple officiating errors that occurred on Sunday, February 25.  The decision was made by Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson on Wednesday.

Wrap: Wright State vs. #20 Louisiana (NCAA Div I Baseball), 2/25/18 | Video as follows:

Source - Joe West Suspended 3 Games for Beltre Comment

MLB suspended veteran umpire and crew chief Joe West for unsportsmanlike comments about Rangers slugger Adrian Beltre, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, who learned of the suspension from the World Umpires Association (WUA). According to the report, the length of West's suspension is three games.

MLB has suspended Joe West for 3 games.

The WUA, whose President is none other than West himself, issued a statement conveying the union's disagreement with the suspension: "Joe West is the most senior umpire in our ranks, having served MLB since 1976, under six different baseball commissioners. Joe has upheld the rules of fair play for more than 5,000 Major League Baseball games, and is on his way to the record for most career games ever worked by an MLB umpire. He should be on the field today...We disagree strongly with the decision to punish Joe West simply for sharing a humorous exchange with a player."

The union contended that West's comments about Beltre were meant as a joke, and were taken as such by Rangers Manager Jeff Banister and by Beltre.

According to Shaikin, Major League Baseball declined to comment on the matter, although the League reportedly informed the umpires' union that West's comments created an "appearance of lack of impartiality." The League also failed to issue a Press Release regarding the suspension before it began on Tuesday. In general, the League has disclosed disciplinary actions imposed on umpires only if suspension is involved.

West was suspended in 2014 for one game.

The suspension effectively corresponds to this week's three-game Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks series in Arizona: the crew will instead feature veteran Alfonso Marquez working in West's place alongside West crew regulars Alan Porter and Hunter Wendelstedt. The fourth umpire, Rob Drake, is working in place of Andy Fletcher, whose absence is unrelated to the West suspension.

West and Beltre both reached significant milestones this season: West officiated his 5,000th game in June while Beltre recently collected his 3,000th career hit.

In an interview conducted with USA Today in anticipation of his momentous 5,000th game, West was asked about a variety of baseball subjects, and stated his belief that the biggest complainer in baseball is Beltre:

[The biggest whiner has] got to be Adrian Beltre. Every pitch you call that’s a strike, he says, “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” I had a game with him recently and the pitch was right down the middle. He tells me, “That ball is outside.” I told him, “You may be a great ballplayer, but you’re the worst umpire in the league. You stink.”

MLB most recently suspended Joe West in 2014 for improper physical contact with a player during his ejection of Jonathan Papelbon earlier that September.

Suspension: Joe West Suspended for Papelbon Incident

MLB suspended umpire Joe West one game following his ejection of Phillies pitcher Jonathan Papelbon and subsequent actions during the post-ejection confrontation. MLB Executive Vice President for Baseball Operations Joe Torre made the announcement:

Joe West handled himself appropriately in ejecting Papelbon after the player's lewd gesture to the fans. I fully understand that Joe was reacting to a player who was acting aggressively, and can understand his frustration with the situation. However, Joe knows that an umpire cannot initiate physical contact with a player, just as a player cannot initiate physical contact with an umpire. I spoke to Joe about the incident, and he admitted that there was a better way to handle the situation. I consider this matter closed.

The last MLB umpire publicly suspended was Fieldin Culbreth, who served as crew chief during the May 9, 2013 Angels-Astros game during which Culbreth's crew allowed Astros Manager Bo Porter to make consecutive pitching changes during the same at-bat, with Porter's second pitcher permitted to exit the game without throwing a single pitch. Angels Manager Mike Scioscia protested that game claiming the umpires neglected to apply Rule 3.05(b) which requires substitute pitchers to face at least one batter or record the third out of an inning, but the Angels came from behind to win the game so the protest was dropped.

In 2012, MLB suspended Bob Davidson for repeated violations of the Office of the Commissioner's standards for situation handling related to his ejection of Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel on 5/15/12.

Discipline: Bob Davidson Suspended for Breach of Conduct

MLB Umpire Bob Davidson has been suspended one game for repeated violations the Office of the Commissioner's standards for "situation handling."

Bob Davidson has been suspended for repeated violations
of MLB BOC's standards for situation handling.

Davidson recently ejected Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel, yelling into the dugout, "You think I wanted to block his ass? What the hell are you doing?" in response to Manuel's disparagement. Manuel was also suspended one game for his role in Tuesday's incident.

Davidson will serve his suspension Friday night during the Twins-Brewers contest at Miller Park in Milwaukee. He will be replaced by a AAA fill-in umpire and is expected to return Saturday.

Umpire Bob Davidson (61) presently has 4 points in the UEFL; his standing is unaffected by his suspension.

News: Umpire Davidson Disciplined / Ken Rosenthal: Umps are Human Too
Related Post: Ejection 031: Bob Davidson (1)