They're Throwing Yankees Out Left And Right

The 6-5 victory against the Cleveland Indians at the Stadium yesterday did not come without a battle and not just with bats and balls.  Fireworks lit up in the 6th inning when a called third strike that appeared slightly out of the strike zone ignited another Yankee temper tantrum leading to three Yankee ejections.

“With the Yankees leading 6-4, Boone — whose “f—ing savages” rant endeared him to fans during an earlier ejection this season — aggressively argued a strike call that sent Cameron Maybin down looking, eliciting cheers from the crowd. Boone was then thrown out — putting bench coach Josh Bard in charge — and then Gardner was ejected for breaking out his trademark move of banging the bat against the roof of the dugout. CC Sabathia, who was yelling from the railing at the top step of the dugout, was also ejected,” reported the New York Post.

The ejections were met with a concert of cheers from fans who got all fired up again as they watched the Yankees continue to battle in games for fairness and precision when it comes to balls and strikes.  Saturday’s game marked the third time in a month that Yankees got ejected for reacting with excessive emotion on strike calls. Coincidentally, each of these umpires were from the minor leagues. 

According to the Baseball Rules Academy official rules of Major League Baseball, “MLB Umpires are entrusted with the authority to remove any participant from a game. This responsibility should never be taken lightly. Major League Baseball recognizes that every situation is unique and that umpire discretion is essential to proper rule enforcement. While there are unique and extraordinary circumstances, players and Clubs look to the MLB umpiring staff for uniformity in applying consistent standards for ejection.”  The rules do specifically state that refusing to stop arguing, “use of histrionic gestures (e.g., jumping up and down, violently waving arms, or demonstrations)”,  and “Throwing equipment in disgust of an umpire’s call may be a ground for ejection.” 

But what if the player or manager has a legitimate beef? With all of the technology available today and inaccuracies around minimally calling balls and strikes, is it time for Major League Baseball to revisit automating home plate umpire duties? According to the Washington Post, “Major League Baseball in February signed a three-year agreement with the independent, eight-team Atlantic League to install experimental rules in line with Commissioner Rob Manfred’s vision for a faster, more action-packed game.” When the media/television started to frame out the strike zone electronically just to let the fans see why the pitch was called a ball or a strike, that was the start of it all.

“Every affiliated minor league ballpark and major league park is outfitted with the same TrackMan technology, though it’s mainly used to calculate advanced metrics such as spin rate, exit velocity and launch angle. League officials also use TrackMan to grade umpires,” reported the Washington Post.

So, as the savage Yankees getting ejected left and right, and the experimental TrackMan technology converge, will these events eventually remove the human umpire from the field? Maybe, one day. But for now, the Yankees need to try and temper the field differently and use their excessive emotion to fuel more wins, leading to #28.

–Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof