Sports activities are crammed with unwritten guidelines, and baseball is totally no exception. “Don’t argue balls and strikes” is a type of guidelines instilled in gamers after they first begin enjoying the sport, however in fact, some guidelines are simpler to observe than others.
That rule, coupled with a faucet of the helmet, led to some of the weird ejections you may ever see within the main leagues on Sunday.
The scene was Sunday afternoon’s recreation between the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays. With the Astros main 1-0 within the high of the ninth inning infielder Taylor Partitions, who entered the sport within the seventh inning as a pinch runner, was on the play with one out dealing with Houston nearer Josh Hader.
On the primary pitch of the at-bat, the left-handed Hader threw a slider low and away to the right-handed Partitions, which residence plate umpire Nic Lentz referred to as a strike.
Partitions clearly didn’t agree with the decision and backed out of the batter’s field, earlier than adjusting his helmet after which tapping it a number of instances.
Which is when chaos ensued.
Throughout Spring Coaching this season the MLB ran a trial of the “automated ball-strike problem system,” underneath which the pitcher, catcher, or batter may request a evaluate of a ball or strike. What’s the sign for such a request?
A faucet of the helmet.
After Partitions tapped his helmet, Lentz stepped round Houston catcher Yainer Diaz and despatched the Rays infielder to the showers, ejecting him from the sport.
That’s when Partitions really erupted.
You may see the complete sequence right here:
Even after being led away by Tampa Bay bench coach Rodney Linares, Partitions escaped to make one other run on the Lentz earlier than lastly being escorted to the clubhouse by teammate Josh Lowe after first base coach Michael Johns intervened.
Talking with the media after the sport, Partitions conceded that after seeing the replay he may see the place Lentz had thought he was being “disrespectful,” however there was completely no intention behind his gesture.
“That’s what he informed me. ‘You’re not going to do this. You’re not going to faucet your helmet.’ And so at that time, like, I do know that they assume that’s disrespectful,” Partitions mentioned to the media after the sport. “I watched the video, and I may see the place he might have thought that.
“However I believe, like, the context clues round it — I’m him and my physique language is saying, like, ‘Dude, I didn’t hear what you’re saying.’ I didn’t say something to him main as much as this. If I’m gonna faucet my helmet, I’m not gonna do it whereas I’m you, asking you a query, attempting to know what you’re telling me.”
Partitions added that he believed the ejection was “untimely” given the scenario.
“I simply bear in mind going to get into the field, type of adjusting my helmet, after which listening to him mouthing one thing. I used to be like, I believe I mentioned, ‘Huh? What’d you say? I can’t hear you,’” Partitions mentioned. “And at that time — I’ve no recollection of it, however after seeing the video, it appears like I tapped my helmet. Nevertheless it was completely unintentional, one thing I used to be not consciously conscious of in any respect.
“So then he comes out, and he’s like, ‘We’re not doing that. You’re out of right here,’ and tosses me. … Simply to be so on edge, pondering that anyone’s simply attempting to be so disrespectful and present you up at that time, I believe it was untimely.”
