George Springer knew the truth.
For some reason, the umpire and the video replay disagreed.
And then one of the most level-headed players in MLB lost his cool.
Springer was furious with home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez on Tuesday after he was ejected for protesting a call during the Blue Jays’ 6-1 road win over the Angels.
The veteran pitcher had to be restrained by manager John Schneider and teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after the ball was ruled a miss because it appeared to graze the infielder.
The ejection was just the second in his 11-year career. From MLB.com.
“I was shocked by the call. I can’t help it,” Springer said. “If you challenge the call in this situation, it’s an automatic ejection. I understand. I know the rules.”
Springer is known as a level-headed player, but even he couldn’t stomach the ruling after a frustrating year for both the 34-year-old and the Blue Jays.
The first and second pitches from Angels left-handed relief pitcher Kenny Rosenberg appeared to hit Springer in the leg and he began to walk toward first base, but Gonzalez did not rule that Springer was hit.
The Blue Jays appealed the call, but the Video Replay Center in New York ruled it a “standby” call.
One Blue Jays announcer couldn’t believe the verdict and made a prediction about the future.
“No way,” the announcer said. “If I were George Springer, I’d be thrown out of the game. I know it wasn’t him, but no way. That ball was deflected off George Springer’s foot.”
Yes, that’s exactly what happened.
A heated Springer can be heard on the microphone saying “What the heck?”, before Schneider came onto the field to dispute the call.
Gonzalez then landed a quick hook on Springer, and the fireworks began.
Springer pointed in Gonzalez’s face and yelled while Schneider was holding him down, but then Guerrero, who was scheduled to reach base with two batters to play, came in to help.
Guerrero had to fight his way past Springer as he tried to get past him and back toward the umpire, but eventually retreated to the dugout as boos rained down on him.
Springer maintained that the pitch definitely hit him and said Gonzalez told him he didn’t see the ball hit him because Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe slid to catch it.
“I don’t need to watch the replay, I know it hit me. I’m not going to say it didn’t hit me when it didn’t,” Springer said. “I want to hit it. It doesn’t matter how it went for me personally. I know it hit me in the leg, but that’s the way it is.”
Schneider had no doubts about Springer’s version of events.
“George’s not going to look out the dugout and say he got hit when he wasn’t hit,” Schneider told MLB.com. “It was obvious to us that he got hit. Maybe New York didn’t have the angle to get hit.”
“I didn’t think there was any need to throw George out there. He was just trying to go away and calm down, which is why I think he reacted the way he did.”
Springer, who was hitless in two at-bats and walked one, acknowledged he could have handled the situation differently.
“I’ve got to get better,” the right fielder told MLB.com. “I’ve got kids in the stands, and I don’t want my boys to see me that upset, so I’ve got to get better.”
