Ejection Temper Tantrum: A Case Study of Joe Mikulik

Asheville Tourists manager Joe Mikulik, famous for his 2006 ejection & temper tantrum, has done it again, this time arguing a call on the basepaths. (Video: Mikulik ejected, throws items, steals third, etc.)

Tourists manager Joe Mikulik during his 2006 ejection.

In the top of the 1st inning of Friday's Tourists-RiverDogs contest at Charleston, Tourists baserunner R2 Cito Culver was caught in a brief rundown, declared safe by 1B Umpire Mike Patterson after avoiding the tag of RiverDogs third baseman Dante Bichette enroute to a stolen base (two umpire mechanics were used for this standard Single-A contest, giving Patterson calling responsibility; Alex Ziegler was the home plate umpire). Though replays are inconclusive as to whether the tag was successfully applied or missed—though replays indicate Culver was at no time out of the basepath—Mikulik vehemently argued the call before being ejected by Patterson.

While Patterson calmy shook his head and repeated the word, "no," Mikulik employed histrionic gesture after verbal onslaught, at several points kicking dirt, throwing his hat and dislodging and picking up third base before handing the bag to a spectator and tipping his cap to the crowd before exiting into the Asheville dugout.

In 2006, Mikulik employed similar exaggerated tantrum tactics after being ejected arguing a call at second base in Lexington, Kentucky. At the time, Mikulik was likewise manager of the Single-A Tourists. (Video: Mikulik throws hat, base, kicks chalk and dirt on home plate, throws bats from dugout onto the field, pours water onto home plate to make mud, pretends he's a catcher, untucks his shirt, stadium PA system plays audio of a child crying before breaking into "Hit the Road, Jack").

In 2007 and not to be outdone, then-Mississippi Braves manager Phil Wellman protested the umpires' ejection of his pitcher whose glove possessed a foreign substance by throwing his hat, physically bending down to cover home plate with dirt, outlining his perception of the strike zone by drawing a line using his fingers, throwing third base into extremely shallow center field, crawling on hands and knees while pitching the rosin bag to the home plate umpire's feet as in a grenade, ejecting the umpire from the game, taking both second and third base bags into right field, and saluting the crowd before exiting through the outfield wall. (Video: Wellman's tantrum... see it to believe it).

So from Mikulik to Wellman, are managerial temper tantrums healthy for the sport of baseball or are they a distraction: Is it entertainment, a disgrace or both?

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Wrap: Tourists at RiverDogs (MiLB, Single-A), 7/28/12
Video: Mikulik ejected arguing safe call, repeats his blown gasket of 6 seasons ago, steals third base