MLB Ejection 123 - Chad Whitson (1; Matt Wieters)

HP Umpire Chad Whitson ejected Nationals C Matt Wieters (ball one call) in the bottom of the 6th inning of the Nationals-Cubs game. With two out and none on, Cubs batter Jason Heyward took a 0-2 sinker from Nationals pitcher Matt Grace for a called first ball. Replays indicate the pitch was located off the edge of home plate and above the midpoint (px -.972, pz 3.431 [sz_top 3.319]), the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Cubs were leading, 6-3. The Cubs ultimately won the contest, 7-4.

This is Chad Whitson (62)'s first ejection of the 2017 MLB regular season.
Chad Whitson now has 6 points in the UEFL Standings (1 Prev + 3 AAA + 2 Correct Call = 6).
Crew Chief Tom Hallion now has 13 points in Crew Division (12 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 13).

This is the 123rd ejection report of 2017.
This is the 53rd player ejection of 2017. Prior to ejection, Wieters was 2-2 in the contest.
This is Washington's 5th ejection of 2017, 2nd in the NL East (MIA 6; WAS 5; ATL 4; NYM 2; PHI 1).
This is Matt Wieters' 1st ejection since April 21, 2016 (Dan Bellino; QOC = Y [Check Swing]).
This is Chad Whitson's first career MLB ejection.

Wrap: Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs, 8/5/17 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 122 - Larry Vanover (2; Ned Yost)

HP Umpire Larry Vanover ejected Royals Manager Ned Yost (upheld Replay Review HR; QOCY) in the top of the 4th inning of the Mariners-Royals game. With one out and none on, Mariners batter Danny Valencia hit a 3-2 sinker from Royals pitcher Trevor Cahill on a fly ball to right field, initially ruled a fair ball and home run by 1B Umpire Chad Fairchild and affirmed via Replay Review, effected as the result of a Crew Chief review by Vanover. Replays indicate the batted ball appeared to make contact with the foul pole in flight and change direction before striking a railing in foul territory, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Mariners were leading, 2-0. The Royals ultimately won the contest, 6-4.

This is Larry Vanover (27)'s second ejection of the 2017 MLB regular season.
Larry Vanover now has 6 points in the UEFL Standings (2 Prev + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 6).
Crew Chief Larry Vanover now has 13 points in Crew Division (12 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 13).

This is the 122nd ejection report of 2017.
This is the 61st Manager ejection of 2017.
This is Kansas City's 6th ejection of 2017, 2nd in the AL Central (CWS 12; KC 6; DET, MIN 3; CLE 0).
This is Ned Yost's 3rd ejection of 2017, 1st since August 2 (John Tumpane; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Larry Vanover's 2nd ejection of 2017, 1st since April 19 (Kevin Cash; QOC = Y [Check Swing]).

Wrap: Seattle Mariners vs. Kansas City Royals, 8/3/17 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 121 - Todd Tichenor (1; Billy Hamilton)

HP Umpire Todd Tichenor ejected Reds CF Billy Hamilton (strike three call; QOCY) in the top of the 5th inning of the Reds-Pirates game. With two out and none on, Hamilton took a 0-2 slider from Pirates pitcher Chad Kuhl for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the outer edge of home plate and thigh-high (px -.900, pz 1.875 [sz_bot 1.535]), the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Pirates were leading, 4-0. The Pirates ultimately won the contest, 6-0.

This is Todd Tichenor (13)'s first ejection of the 2017 MLB regular season.
Todd Tichenor now has 3 points in the UEFL Standings (-1 Prev + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 3).
Crew Chief Bill Miller now has 11 points in Crew Division (10 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 11).
*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.

This is the 121st ejection report of 2017.
This is the 52nd player ejection of 2017. Prior to ejection, Hamilton was 0-3 (2 SO) in the contest.
This is Cincinnati's 4th ejection of 2017, T-2nd in the NL Central (MIL 5; CIN, PIT 4; CIN 3; CHC 2).
This is Billy Hamilton's first career MLB ejection.
This is Todd Tichenor's first ejection since September 26, 2016 (Larry Rothschild; QOC = U [USC-NEC]).

Wrap: Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 8/3/17 | Video as follows:

Major League Debut of Umpire Nick Mahrley (48)

Umpire Nick Mahrley makes his MLB debut during Thursday's Mets-Rockies game in Colorado, joining Jim Reynolds' crew as the third base umpire alongside HP Umpire Jim Reynolds, 1B Umpire Brian Knight, and 2B Umpire Lance Barrett.

Umpire Nick Mahrley.

The debut comes as a result of Wednesday's game-ending injury to Kerwin Danley, who would otherwise have been scheduled to serve as the third base umpire for Thursday's game.

Mahrley is on the Pacific Coast League roster for the 2017 season, which is his fourth season in Triple-A. Mahrley previously umpired in the Gulf Coast, New York-Penn, Midwest, Carolina, Florida State, and Eastern Leagues. He recently served as plate umpire for the 2017 Triple-A All-Star Game.

Mahrley wears the uniform number 48 at the Major League level, which was last worn by Anthony "AJ" Johnson, and makes his MLB debut at the age of 34. He resides in Phoenix, Arizona, is the fourth new fill-in umpire to make his debut during the 2017 regular season (Ryan Additon, 5/21/17; John Libka, 5/27/17; and Shane Livensparger, 6/10/17), and the first not to debut during a doubleheader.

Marley most recently worked third base for Tuesday's Bees-Sounds game in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ormond Beach Renews 10-Year Wendelstedt School Lease

Ormond Beach's City Commission voted to renew its 10-year lease agreement with the Wendelstedt Umpire School during a meeting at City Hall on Wednesday, after a brief discussion over dollars and terms.

Wendelstedt's lease has been renewed.

According to the Ormond Beach Observer, City Commissioner Dwight Selby initially attempted to pull the resolution from the agenda, citing concerns about the compensation received from Wendelstedt for renting out the Ormond Beach Sports Complex for 45 days out of the year.

Said Selby, "Intuitively, I believe we, the city, are subsidizing this significantly."

Selby's math held Wendelstedt's payment of less than $4,500 to lease the property for 45 days to average out to less than $100 per day, which drew agreement as "too little" from Ormond Beach Youth Baseball and Softball Association Tee-Ball Director Doug Wigley, who thought the 10-year term was too long.

MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.

Present at the meeting was the school's owner and operator, Hunter Wendelstedt, who estimated that the school's January and February presence bring in "anywhere from $1.6 to $1.8 million a year in economic development." He also pointed out that the school is only on the field for 29 days out of the 45.

After further comment from Commissioner Rick Boehm praising the school for doing more for the city than "literally any other organization you can think of...and they have for years" (the Wendelstedt School for Umpires is coming off of multiple 10-year leases with the city of Ormond Beach), the Commission met to discuss the matter, and ultimately voted—unanimously—to renew the school's contract and lease agreement.

The Wendelstedt School for Umpires, formerly the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School, was previously known as the Bill McGowan School for Umpires (founded 1938), and the Al Somers Umpire School.

Injury Scout - Danley Hit in Hand by Bouncing Pitch

Kerwin Danley left another game after being struck by a pitched ball, this time in Colorado on Wednesday.

Kerwin Danley receives care in Colorado.

With none out and none on in the top of the 4th inning of Wednesday night's Mets-Giants game, Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood threw a 1-2 breaking ball that bounced off the ground and into Danley's left hand or wrist, which he had held in front of his chest during the bounced pitch. Replays indicate the pitch bounced off the infield grass in front of home plate and deflected off of catcher Ryan Hanigan's right shoulder pad before hitting Danley.

Danley left the game after attention from the Rockies training staff and was replaced behind the plate by crewmate and 2B Umpire Lance Barrett, with 1B Umpire Jim Reynolds and 3B Umpire Brian Knight sharing field responsibilities. Reynolds additionally assumed the role of acting crew chief, as Danley had been serving as acting crew chief for Dale Scott, who himself has been absent since April 14 when he suffered a concussion as the result of a foul ball to the head.

Relevant Injury History: Danley has no relevant (hand/arm) injury history. However, he most recently left a game on July 9, 2017, as the result of a foul ball head injury, his sixth significant head injury since 2008.

Last Game: August 2 | Return to Play: September 8 | Total Time Absent: 36 Days | Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 119-120 - John Tumpane (4-5; KC x2)

HP Umpire John Tumpane ejected Royals DH Mike Moustakas and Manager Ned Yost (strike three call; QOCY) in the top of the 9th inning of the Royals-Orioles game. With one out and none on, Moustakas took a 2-2 slider from Orioles pitcher Darren O'Day for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the outer edge of home plate and at the hollow of the knee (px -.912, pz 1.526 [sz_bot 1.601 / MOE 1.518]), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejections, the Orioles were leading, 6-0. The Orioles ultimately won the contest, 6-0.

This is John Tumpane (74)'s fourth, fifth ejection of the 2017 MLB regular season.
John Tumpane now has 12 points in the UEFL Standings (4 Prev + 2*[2 MLB + 2 Correct Call] = 12).
Crew Chief Ted Barrett now has 10 points in Crew Division (8 Previous + 2 Correct Call = 10).
*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.

This is the 119th, 120th ejection report of 2017.
This is the 51st player ejection of 2017. Prior to ejection, Moustakas was 0-4 (2 SO) in the contest.
This is the 60th Manager ejection of 2017.
This is Kansas City's 5th ejection of 2017, 2nd in the AL Central (CWS 12; KC 5; DET, MIN 3; CLE 0).
This is Mike Moustakas' first ejection since June 25, 2014 (Brian Knight; QOC = N-C [Out/Safe]).
This is Ned Yost's 2nd ejection of 2017, 1st since May 27 (Bill Welke; QOC = Y-C [Check Swing]).
This is John Tumpane's 4-5th ejection of 2017, 1st since June 25 (Peter Moylan; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles, 8/2/17 | Video as follows:

Introducing UEFL's Replay Review Statistics Page

Today we introduce our new Replay Review Statistics page, tracking instant replay decisions by Umpire, Team, and Type throughout the season.

Snapshot of a few features of the UEFL's Replay Stats page.

This new product of UEFL's Umpire Sabermetrics contains a Replay Review overview, tables for umpires sorted by Review Affirmation Percentage (may also be sorted by umpire, or number of calls upheld/overturned), teams, and a chart broken down by type of call subject to review.

"MLB Umpire Replay Review Statistics and Sabermetrics" is accessible from any page at www.closecallsports.com by clicking the "Replay Stats" link on the navigation bar at the top of the site.

For more information, visit the new page here: http://www.closecallsports.com/p/replay-stats.html.

UEFL's MLB Umpire Sabermetrics - July 2017

UEFL's MLB Umpire Sabermetrics report for July 2017 is now available, featuring 118 ejections and 889 Replay Reviews through 1,574 games played.

Ejections and replays are both projected to decrease year-over-year, based on current rates.

The attached Most & Least Accurate Umpires, Replay Review contains the top and bottom of the Replay Review table ordinarily found in the "Read More" detailed section of the monthly report.

Summary, Ejections.
>> 118 Total Regular Season Ejections through July 31, 2017 (on pace for 182 ejections this season).
>> Umpires were 63.0% accurate on calls associated with ejection.
>> The Chicago White Sox led MLB in ejections. The Dodgers and Marlins tied for the NL lead.
>> Manager Rick Renteria led MLB in ejections. Don Mattingly led the NL in managerial ejections.
>> Umpires Bill Welke, Sam Holbrook, and Phil Cuzzi led all umpires in ejections.
>> Chief Sam Holbrook's crew led all umpire crews in ejections.
>> Most ejections occurred in the 8th inning; Ejections from 7th and on comprised 45% of all tosses.
>> Most ejections occurred on Saturdays. Weekend series (Fri-Sun) featured 50% of all heave-ho's.
>> The most common reason for ejection was Balls/Strikes, followed by Check Swing.
>> All else equal, a team tied at the time of ejection ended up winning the game 95.2% of the time.

Summary, Replay Reviews.
>> 889 Total Replay Reviews, of which calls were affirmed 51.2% of the time (48.8% overturned).
>> The Tampa Bay Rays used replay more than any other team, but were fairly unsuccessful.
>> The Kansas City Royals were the League's most successful team in review (17-for-23).
>> The BAL Orioles experienced fewer reviews than any other team, and were 2nd best in MLB.
>> The Blue Jays were the worst MLB team in terms of Replay success (8-of-27).
>> Umpire Doug Eddings had a league-leading 20 calls reviewed, and was above average in outcome.
>> Jeff Nelson's crew led all of baseball in replay activity, and performed at league average.
>> Umpire Chad Fairchild led in accuracy with all of his calls affirmed by replay (5/5).
>> Umpire Gerry Davis experienced the highest rate of his calls being overturned by replay (0/5).
>> The 7th inning had more reviews than any other inning. 33% of all reviews occurred from 7th-on.
>> Most reviews occurred on Sundays; Weekend series (Fri-Sun) featured 52% of all replays.
>> The most common reason for review was Out/Safe (Force - 1st) followed by Out/Safe (Tag - In).

Most & Least Accurate Umpires, Replay Review (sorted by Review Affirmation Percentage [RAP]).
1. Chad Fairchild, Pat Hoberg, Sean Barber, Dale Scott - 100% RAP.
5. Vic Carapazza - 81.8% RAP.
6. Alfonso Marquez - 78.6% RAP.
7. Bill Miller - 77.8% RAP.
8. Adam Hamari, Quinn Wolcott - 75.0% RAP.
10. Chris Guccione - 72.7% RAP.
---
85. Ron Kulpa, Dana DeMuth - 20.0% RAP.
87. Lance Barrett, Kerwin Danley, Brian O'Nora - 14.3% RAP.
90. Gerry Davis, John Libka - 0.0% RAP.

For detailed sabermetric analysis of MLB umpire ejections and instant replay review outcomes, including a Replay Review umpire leaderboard, follow the "read more" link below.

MLB Ejection 118 - Doug Eddings (2; Doug Brocail)

HP Umpire Doug Eddings ejected Rangers Pitching Coach Doug Brocail (balk call; QOCY) in the top of the 9th inning of the Mariners-Rangers game. With one out and two on (R1, R2), Rangers pitcher Alex Claudio was called for a balk by HP Umpire Eddings during his 1-0 delivery to Mariners batter Robinson Cano. Replays indicate Claudio, pitching out of Set Position, failed to come to a stop prior to his delivery (there appeared to be continual movement of the hands and arms), the call was correct.* Play was reviewed and affirmed by the UEFL Appeals Board (9-0), the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 4-4. The Mariners ultimately won the contest, 6-4.

This is Doug Eddings (88)'s second ejection of the 2017 MLB regular season.
Doug Eddings now has 11 points in the UEFL Standings (7 Prev + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 11).
Crew Chief Jeff Nelson now has 2 points in Crew Division (1 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 2).
*Rule 6.02(a)(13) states, "It is a balk when—The pitcher delivers the pitch from Set Position without coming to a stop."

This is the 118th ejection report of 2017.
This is Texas' 6th ejection of 2017, 1st in the AL West (TEX 6; OAK, SEA 4; HOU 2; LAA 1).
This is Doug Brocail's first ejection since June 17, 2012 (Dale Scott; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Doug Eddings' 2nd ejection of 2017, 1st since July 5 (Yunel Escobar; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Seattle Mariners vs. Texas Rangers, 7/31/17 | Video as follows: