We have an Ump Show in Toronto.
Umpire Will Little ejected Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman and catcher Russell Martin on the same play in today’s A’s-Jays game after they took issue with a called ball. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons had been ejected just two pitches earlier. As the above photo shows, Martin took issue with Little’s strike zone earlier in the game when he was batting.
Stroman had issued six walks before his ejection and both he and the Blue Jays bench were unhappy with Little’s strike zone all afternoon. Stroman’s unhappiness, however, did not appear to be super demonstrative. He did not visibly show up Little or get into an argument with him. If anything, he seemed to be just muttering to himself which should not be a problem.
Little felt otherwise, however -- acting as if his honor was being questioned or something -- and tossed him. Stroman then charged toward Little, which is not a thing you see everyday. He’ll probably get a fine or a suspension for that, but really, this was a B.S. ejection, and the fact that Little ran both the pitcher and the catcher moments after running the manager compounds the B.S. Apparently Little’s ego is worth substantially impacting a team’s ability to compete in a game.
Here is the final walk, issued to A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell, followed by Stroman’s charge.
Will Little just threw a pitcher and catcher out of game on the same close pitch. Embarrassing. Bring on robot umps. pic.twitter.com/tnajBzV0Nu
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) July 27, 2017