The hurdle for receiving an ejection seems to be getting lower.
Nationals outfielder Lane Thomas was ejected after being called for three strikes in the sixth inning of a 7-2 loss to the Tigers on Thursday, but there was visual evidence that he hadn’t said anything to warrant an ejection.
“What? Are you kidding me? I wasn’t looking at you, I was looking at the ball!” Thomas could be heard yelling in defense of home plate umpire Emil Jimenez after his ejection.
After a questionable strike call on a 2-2 pitch by Detroit starter Casey Mize, Thomas appeared to briefly look the second-year umpire’s way.
Jimenez’s odd call was roundly criticized by the Nationals’ broadcast team.
“We literally have video and voice audio,” said the Nationals announcer. Former MLB infielder Kevin Fransen furious“He never said that, that’s just bad.”
“That makes me even more angry.”
Thomas, who was 1-for-3 in the game before his ejection, said after the game he didn’t say anything to the umpire and called the incident “frustrating.”
“Looking back, I think what I said was exactly what I’ve said in the past, just a little too quickly,” Thomas said. According to the Washington Post“I never said anything to him, so that was the frustrating part for me.”
Thomas, 28, has appeared in 39 games with Washington this season, batting .225/.292/.338 with four home runs and 18 RBIs.
Controversial ejections and clashes with umpires have been recurring themes this year. Ironically, this was the same season that perhaps the sport’s most controversial umpire, Angel Hernandez, retired after 33 seasons in charge.
On Wednesday, Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos told umpire Derek Thomas to “speak up” about a misunderstanding regarding a pitch clock violation.
Despite this, he was not ejected for the exchange.
Fellow Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper had the misfortune of being ejected by umpire Brian Walsh in late May after a seemingly friendly exchange over a strikeout call.
“So John Tampanet, Alan Porter, Pat Horberg, Vic [Carapazza] “Tonight in the second, there are professionals in this league, guys who are really good at what they do and they know it,” Harper said. He told reporters “I guess I didn’t understand No. 120,” he said after the game, before referring to the jersey number Walsh was wearing.
Just minutes into a game in late April, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected after a fan in the stands yelled at umpire Hunter Wendelstead, who was arguing with Boone.
An infuriated manager, Boone, claimed that a fan behind the dugout had said something, but no one listened.
“It doesn’t matter who said it, you’re gone!” Wendelstedt responded.
Yankees captain Aaron Judge was no exception.
In early May, he was prematurely ejected by umpire Ryan Brackney after expressing his dissatisfaction with a three-strike call, calling it “bullshit” on his way back to the dugout.
“I was very surprised,” Judge said of the ejection. “I’ve said much worse things. I usually try not to make a fuss in these situations, so I wasn’t surprised when it happened.”
