MLB Ejection 158 - Dan Bellino (2; Todd Frazier)

HP Umpire Dan Bellino ejected Mets 3B Todd Frazier (strike two call; QOCN) in the bottom of the 6th inning of the Marlins-Mets game. With one out and none on, Frazier took 1-0 sliders for called first and second strikes from Marlins pitcher Jose Urena before flying out. Replays indicate the 1-0 pitch was located over the outer edge of home plate and above the knees (px .906, pz 1.834 [sz_bot 1.60]) and the 1-1 pitch was located off the outer edge of home plate and thigh-high (px .940, pz 2.230), the call was incorrect. At the time of the ejection, the Marlins were leading, 2-1. The Marlins ultimately won the contest, 5-3.

This is Dan Bellino (2)'s second ejection of 2018.
Dan Bellino now has -2  points in the UEFL Standings (0 Prev + 2 MLB - 4 Incorrect Call = 2).
Crew Chief Tom Hallion now has -5 points in Crew Division (-5 Previous + 0 Incorrect Call = -5).
*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.
The 1-1 pitch was located .312 horizontal inches from being deemed a correct call.

This is the 158th ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 77th player ejection of 2018. Prior to ejection, Frazier was 0-3 in the contest
This is New York-NL's 6th ejection of 2018, T-2nd in the NL East (WAS 8; ATL, NYM 6; MIA 5; PHI 0).
This is Todd Frazier's first ejection since June 24, 2017 (Sam Holbrook; QOC = Y [Replay Review]).
This is Dan Bellino's second ejection of 2018, 1st since May 2 (John Gibbons; QOC = Y-C [Check Swing]).

Wrap: Miami Marlins vs. New York Mets, 9/11/18 | Video as follows:

Hinch Calls for Streamlined Replay in Radio Interview

Speaking on MLB Network Radio, Houston Astros Manager AJ Hinch called for a quicker and more efficient Replay Review process across baseball, expressing concern with the issue of umpires serving as Replay Officials and confusion with the "call stands" outcome for an inconclusive video review.

HOU's AJ Hinch has some replay suggestion.

Hinch concluded his interview on the radio show by answer a question about how he would improve replay, lamenting that the umpires should be subject to a strict time constraint, as teams are when deciding whether or not to challenge a play: "If there's a time constraint on us, there has to be a time constraint on them."

Though Hinch acknowledged that umpires in the Replay Room tended to take more time to review more angles in order to craft a better-informed decision, he also explained that the more time spent reviewing a play tended to suggest an injection of greater doubt, which might lead to a "call stands" determination, which Hinch called "very, very confusing."

Hinch's Astros are near the bottom of the Teams' Replay Review leaderboard, ranking 27th out of 30 MLB teams with 11-out-of-30 total plays resulting in an overturned call (36.7% TSP). The league-average "success rate" in overturned calls is about 49%.
Related Page: MLB Umpire Replay Review Statistics and Sabermetrics (UEFL).

Hinch also stated his "curiosity" regarding an umpire reviewing another umpire's call, positing that perhaps the league would be best served to hire specially-trained third parties to make the replay decisions.

Statistical Analysis: Though Hinch is correct that length-of-review is correlated with outcome such that "call stands" reviews tend to take the longest to complete, MLB has taken steps to streamline the replay process, such as installing a two-minute guideline for Replay Officials in New York, beginning with the 2017 season, in an effort to decrease review times.
Related Post: 2017 Rules Mods, Including IBB Change, Announced (3/2/17).

And it's worked: the average length of review, by year, has decreased since its 2014 debut of one-minute, 46-seconds in 2014, to a high of 1:51 in 2015, and down to 1:36 in 2016 and 1:28 in 2017; earlier in 2018, the average replay duration was even less, at one-minute, 24-seconds.

Replay Review takes time to do.

Pace of Play Sidebar: With 2,430 games in an MLB season and slightly more than half as many reviews, on average (for 2017, 1,336 reviews ÷ 2,430 games = .55 reviews-per-game ), we can surmise than at a rate of .55 and average replay duration of 90 seconds (a nice, round number), we should expect 45 seconds added per game due to replay, or a total of 30 hours, 22 minutes, and 30 seconds of Replay Review time over the course of the entire season.

This 45 seconds-per-game addition does not sufficiently explain why game times rose from 3:00:42 in 2016 to 3:05:11 in 2017 (all else equal, by contrast, an eight-second-per-game decrease in average replay time between '16 and '17 should expectedly correlate with decreased game times, especially because 2016 featured 1,468 reviews in 2,428 games [two cancellations]—132 more reviews than 2017, at an average of eight seconds longer apiece).
Related Post: UEFL's MLB Umpire Sabermetrics - 2016 Regular Season (10/3/16).

Gil's Call: We already have discussed how to streamline replay, identifying in 2017 that the biggest waste of time surrounding replay is the amount of time an umpire spends jogging from the field to the replay station and the time it takes to get back to playing baseball after that. Though MLB touts 1:28 (2017) as its average replay time, this simply accounts for headset-to-headset, not "Time"-to-"Play," which could incorporate anything from the infamous manager "hold" to an umpire conference and beyond.
Related Post: Queue Theory & Petty Baseball - Streamlining Replay (4/20/17).

Tmac proposed a 90-second limit once the headsets are on—which MLB has unofficially accomplished (kind of) with average replay time less than 1:30—as well as requiring immediate manager challenges, in exchange for giving teams a second challenge each game. Then again, something tells me Hinch wouldn't be too satisfied by losing even more time off his decision-making process.
Related Post: Tmac's Teachable Moments - Let's Fix Replay (1/19/17).

2018 Triple-A Postseason Rosters - PCL, IL Series

The following umpires were selected to officiate MiLB's 2018 Pacific Coast and International League postseason series. Semifinals information from MiLB; Championship (PCL, IL and Triple-A) information from Ump-Attire.

As we learned from Brian Hertzog in Episode 3 of The Plate Meeting, MLB fill-in umpires will tend not to officite the MiLB postseason so as to retain availability for the major league level throughout the month of September.

Related: 2018 PCL Roster | 2018 IL Roster.

Triple-A National Championship Game
> John Bostwick (PCL) (also worked 2017 PCL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training)
> John Bacon (IL) (2017 IL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training)
> Blake Felix (PCL) (2017 PCL Postseason)
> Alex Tosi (IL) (2017 IL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training)

International League Championship
> John Bacon (2017 IL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training)
> Dan Merzel (2018 AAA All-Star, 2017 IL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training, 2015 Futures Game)
> Jeremy Riggs (2017 IL Postseason, 2017 AAA All-Star, 2017 MLB Spring Training, 2016 IL Postseason)
> Alex Tosi (2017 AFL, 2017 IL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training)

Pacific Coast League Championship
> John Bostwick (2017 PCL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training)
> Mike Cascioppo (2017 PCL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training)
> Blake Felix (2017 PCL Postseason)
> JJ January (2018 MLB Spring Training, 2017 AFL, 2017 PCL Postseason, 2015 Futures Game)

International League Semifinals
> John Bacon (2017 IL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training)
> Adam Beck (2016 Futures Game)
> Ryan Clark (2018 AAA All-Star Game)
> Chris Graham
> Dan Merzel (2018 AAA All-Star, 2017 IL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training, 2015 Futures Game)
> Brennan Miller (2016 Futures Game)
> Jeremy Riggs (2017 IL Postseason, 2017 AAA All-Star, 2017 MLB Spring Training, 2016 IL Postseason)
> Alex Tosi (2017 AFL, 2017 IL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training)

Pacific Coast League Semifinals
> John Bostwick (2017 PCL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training)
> Mike Cascioppo (2017 PCL Postseason, 2017 MLB Spring Training)
> Paul Clemons
> Mathew Czajak
> Blake Felix (2017 PCL Postseason)
> Clay Park
> JJ January (2018 MLB Spring Training, 2017 AFL, 2017 PCL Postseason, 2015 Futures Game)
> Junior Valentine (2017 MLB Spring Training, 2015 Futures Game)

MLB Ejection 157 - Jeremie Rehak (4; Brett Gardner)

HP Umpire Jeremie Rehak ejected Yankees LF Brett Gardner (strike one call; QOCY) in the top of the 9th inning of the Yankees-Mariners game. With one out and none on, Gardner took a 2-0 fastball from Mariners pitcher Edwin Diaz for a called first strike before striking out swinging on a subsequent pitch. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the outer edge of home plate and below the midpoint (px -.853, pz 3.136 [sz_bot 3.32]) and that all other pitches during the at-bat were properly officiated, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Mariners were leading, 3-2. The Mariners ultimately won the contest, 3-2.

This is Jeremie Rehak (35)'s fourth ejection of 2018.
Jeremie Rehak now has 15 points in the UEFL Standings (11 Prev + 2 AAA + 2 Correct Call = 15).
Crew Chief Mark Wegner now has 6 points in Crew Division (5 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 6).
*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.
This pitch was located .732 horizontal inches from being deemed an incorrect call.

This is the 157th ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 76th player ejection of 2018. Prior to ejection, Gardner was 0-3 (SO) in the contest.
This is New York-AL's 9th of 2018, 1st in the AL East (NYY 9; TOR 8; BOS 5; BAL 3; TB 1).
This is Brett Gardner's first ejection since September 2, 2014 (Tim Timmons; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Jeremie Rehak's 4th ejection of 2018, 1st since June 11 (M Bumgarner; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners, 9/9/18 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 154-156 - Tom Hallion (1-3; MIL x3)

HP Umpire Tom Hallion ejected Brewers Manager Craig Counsell, pitcher Wade Miley, and catcher Jacob Nottingham (warnings/non-ejection; QOCU) in the bottom of the 6th inning of the Giants-Brewers game. With two out and two on, Brewers batter Ryan Braun took three consecutive fastballs from Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, the third for a hit-by-pitch. Replays indicate all three were located above the strike zone, and the first and third pitches of the at-bat were located inside, the third touching Braun's jersey below the shoulder, the call was irrecusable. At the time of the ejections, the Giants were leading, 2-1. The Brewers ultimately won the contest, 6-3.

These are Tom Hallion (20)'s first, second, and third ejections of the 2018 MLB regular season.
Tom Hallion now has 3 points in the UEFL Standings (-3 Prev + 3*[2 MLB + 0 Irrecusable] = 3).
Crew Chief Tom Hallion now has -5 points in Crew Division (-8 Previous + 3 Irrecusable Call = -5).

This is the 154th, 155th, and 156th ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 63rd Manager ejection of 2018.
This is the 74th, 75th player ejection of 2018. Prior to ejection, neither player appeared in the game.
This is Milwaukee's 6/7/8th ejection of 2018, 2nd in the NL Central (CHC 10; MIL 8; STL 4; CIN 3; PIT 2).
This is Craig Counsell's first ejection since August 18, 2018 (Cory Blaser; QOC = U [Warnings]).
This is Wade Miley's first career MLB ejection.
This is Jacob Nottingham's first career MLB ejection.
This is Tom Hallion's first ejections since March 22, 2018 (Rob Thomson; QOC = U [Throwing At]).

Wrap: San Francisco Giants vs. Milwaukee Brewers, 9/9/18 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 152-153 - Lance Barrett (3-4; STL x2)

HP Umpire Lance Barrett ejected Cardinals DH Matt Carpenter and Manager Mike Shildt (strike three call; QOCN) in the top of the 9th inning of the Cardinals-Tigers game. With two out and none on, Carpenter took a 1-2 fastball from Tigers pitcher Louis Coleman for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located off the outer edge of home plate and below the midpoint (px -1.060, pz 2.940), the call was incorrect. At the time of the ejections, the Cardinals were leading, 5-2. The Cardinals ultimately won the contest, 5-2.

These are Lance Barrett (94)'s third and fourth ejections of 2018.
Lance Barrett now has 8 points in the UEFL Standings (12 Prev + 2*[2 MLB - 4 Incorrect Call] = 8).
Crew Chief Bill Welke now has 21 points in Crew Division (21 Previous + 0 Incorrect Call = 21).
*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.

This is the 152nd and 153rd ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 73rd player ejection of 2018. Prior to ejection, Carpenter was 0-4 (2 SO) in the contest.
This is the 62nd Manager ejection of 2018.
This is St. Louis' 3/4th ejection of 2018, 3rd in the NL Central (CHC 10; MIL 5; STL 4; CIN 3; PIT 2).
This is Matt Carpenter's first ejection since April 23, 2017 (John Tumpane; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Mike Shildt's first career MLB ejection.
This is Lance Barrett's 3/4th ejection of 2018, 1st since July 7 (John Gibbons; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Detroit Tigers, 9/9/18 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 150-151 - Doug Eddings (3-4; ATL x2)

HP Umpire Doug Eddings ejected Braves CF Ender Inciarte (check swing strike two call by 3B Umpire Mark Ripperger; QOCY) in the top of the 4th and Hitting Coach Kevin Seitzer (strike three call; QOCY) in the top of the 8th inning of the Braves-Diamondbacks game. In the 4th, with two out and one on (R1), Inciarte attempted to check his swing on a 2-1 fastball from Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin, ruled a swinging strike on appeal to 3B Umpire Ripperger. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the outer half of home plate and at the midpoint (px -.289, pz 3.503 [sz_top 3.320 / RAD 3.443 / MOE 3.526]), which renders the strike call correct pursuant to UEFL Rule 6-2-b-6-a.* At the time of Inciarte's ejection, the Diamondbacks were leading, 4-1.

In the 8th, with one out and the bases loaded, Braves batter Adam Duvall took a 1-2 curveball from Diamondbacks pitcher Brad Ziegler for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the inner half of home plate and above the hollow of the knee (px -.613, pz 1.769 [sz_bot 1.56]), the call was correct. At the time of Seitzer's ejection, the Diamondbacks were leading, 4-3. The Diamondbacks ultimately won the contest, 5-3.

These are Doug Eddings (88)'s third and fourth ejection of 2018.
Doug Eddings now has 10 pts in the UEFL Standings (3 Prev + 2*[2 MLB] + 1 QOCY-C + 2 QOCY = 10).
Crew Chief Joe West now has 4 points in Crew Division (2 Previous + 2*[1 Correct Call] = 4).
*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-6-a states, "Any displayed reasoning for such a call, including a communicated application or interpretation of a rule, shall not affect the determination of Quality of Correctness. Quality of Correctness is governed by the (in)correctness of the call made, not by the quality of reasoning given for such a call." The call here is "strike"; the reasoning is swing vs pitch location.
*The 2-1 pitch to Inciarte was located 0.276 vertical inches from referral to the UEFL Appeals Board.

This is the 150th and 151st ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 72nd player ejection of 2018. Prior to ejection, Inciarte was 0-2 (2 SO) in the contest.
This is Atlanta's 5/6th ejection of 2018, 2nd in the NL East (WAS 8; ATL 6; MIA, NYM 5; PHI 0).
This is Ender Inciarte's first career MLB ejection.
This is Kevin Seitzer's first ejection since July 4, 2014 (Vic Carapazza; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Doug Eddings' 3/4th ejection of 2018, 1st since May 12 (Steven Souza; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Atlanta Braves vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, 9/7/18 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 149 - Andy Fletcher (5; Bud Black)

HP Umpire Andy Fletcher ejected Rockies Manager Bud Black (balk call; QOCY) in the top of the 5th inning of the Dodgers-Rockies game. With one out and two on (R1, R2), Rockies pitcher Chris Rusin committed a balk, resulting in awards to the runners of second and third base. Replays indicate Rusin attempted to hold the runners via a false move in contravention of the balk rules prohibiting the illegal actions described in Official Baseball Rule 6.02(a), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 2-2. The Dodgers ultimately won the contest, 4-2.

This is Andy Fletcher (49)'s fifth ejection of 2018
Andy Fletcher now has 10 points in the UEFL Standings (6 Prev + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 10).
Crew Chief Jeff Nelson now has -1 points in Crew Division (-2 Previous + 1 Correct Call = -1).
*OBR 6.02(a)(1) states that is a balk when—"The pitcher, while touching his plate, makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch and fails to make such delivery."
*OBR 6.02(a)(2) states that it is a balk when—"The pitcher, while touching his plate, feints a throw to first or third base and fails to complete the throw."

This is the 149th ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 61st Manager ejection of 2018.
This is Colorado's 5th ejection of 2018, 5th in the NL West (SF 8; ARI, LAD 7; SD 6; COL 5).
This is Bud Black's 2nd ejection of 2018, 1st since June 18 (Bill Welke; QOC = Y [Out of Base Path]).
This is Andy Fletcher's 5th ejection of 2018, 1st since August 4 (Tucker Barnhart; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies, 9/7/18 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 147-148 - Adam Hamari (5-6; SF x2)

HP Umpire Adam Hamari ejected Giants C Nick Hundley and Manager Bruce Bochy (strike three call; QOCY) in the top of the 9th inning of the Giants-Brewers game. With one out and none on, Giants batter Nick Hundley took three consecutive pitches from Brewers pitcher Jeremy Jeffress for called first, second, and third strikes. Replays indicate all pitches were properly officiated and, of the three, the pitch farthest away from the center of the strike zone was the final pitch of the at-bat (called third strike), located over the outer half of home plate and above the hollow of the knee (px .193, pz 1.588 [sz_bot 1.540]), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Brewers were leading, 4-2. The Brewers ultimately won the contest, 4-2.

This is Adam Hamari (78)'s fifth ejection of 2018.
Adam Hamari now has 9 points in the UEFL Standings (1 Prev + 2*[2 MLB + 2 Correct Call] = 9).
Crew Chief Tom Hallion now has -6 points in Crew Division (-8 Previous + 2*[1 Correct Call] = -6).
*The 0-2 pitch was located 3.048 vertical inches from being deemed an incorrect call.
^Add another nickel to the broadcaster Ham-ARE-ee pronunciation jar.^

This is the 147th and 148th ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 71st player ejection of 2018. Prior to ejection, Hundley was 1-4 (2 SO) in the contest.
This is the 60th Manager ejection of 2018.
This is San Francisco's 7/8th ejection of 2018, 1st in the NL West (SF 8; ARI, LAD 7; SD 6; COL 4).
This is Nick Hundley's 2nd ejection of 2018, 1st since August 14 (Eric Cooper; QOC = U [Fighting]).
This is Bruce Bochy's 2nd ejection of 2018, 1st since May 17 (Chris Segal; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Adam Hamari's 5th ejection of 2018, 1st since August 12 (Tyler Webb; QOC = U [Throwing At]).

Wrap: San Francisco Giants vs. Milwaukee Brewers, 9/7/18 | Video as follows:

Injury Scout - Foul Ball Prompts O'Nora's Early Exit

Brian O'Nora left Friday's Astros-Red Sox game following a deflected foul ball to the facemask.

In the top of the 2nd inning, Astros batter Josh Reddick fouled a 2-1, 93.2-mph fastball from Red Sox pitcher David Price, deflected by catcher Sandy Leon, into O'Nora's traditional-style facemask.

O'Nora remained in the game until the conclusion of the half-inning upon which time he was replaced by home plate by James Hoye, with David Rackley (1B) and Quinn Wolcott (3B) on the lines.

Relevant Injury History: O'Nora left a September 18, 2016 game in San Francisco after a foul ball-to-mask event, resulting in a reported concussion.

Last Game: September 7 | Return to Play: September 25 | Time Absent: 17 Days | Video as follows: