MLB Ejections 088-89 - L Barrett (1-2; Sabathia, Gibbons)

HP Umpire Lance Barrett ejected Yankees bench player/pitcher CC Sabathia (strike three call; QOCY) and Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons (ball four call; Y) in the top of the 3rd inning of the Yankees-Jays game. With one out and one on (R1), Yankees batter Kyle Higashioka took a 3-2 fastball from Blue Jays pitcher JA Happ for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the inner half of home plate and thigh high (px -.280, pz 1.814 [sz_bot 1.565]), the call was correct. At the time of Sabathia's ejection, the Yankees were leading, 4-2.

With one out and one on (R2), New York's next batter, Greg Bird, took a 3-2 fastball from pitcher Happ for a called fourth ball. Replays indicate the pitch was located off the outer edge of home plate and below the hollow of the knees (px -.802, pz 1.325) and that all other pitches during the at-bat were properly officiated (balls two - pz 1.478, and three - pz 1.517, sz_bot 1.627), the call was correct. At the time of Gibbons' ejection, the Yankees were leading, 4-2. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 8-5.

These are Lance Barrett (94)'s first and second ejections of 2018.
Lance Barrett now has 10 points in the UEFL Standings (2 Prev + 2*[2 MLB + 2 Correct Call] = 10).
Crew Chief Bill Welke now has 13 points in Crew Division (11 Previous + 2 Correct Call = 13).

These are the 88th and 89th ejection reports of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 45th player ejection of 2018. Prior to ejection, Sabathia did not appear in the game.
This is the 36th Manager ejection of 2018.
This is New York-AL's 6th ejection of 2018, 1st in the AL East (NYY 6; TOR 4; BAL 3; BOS 2; TB 1).
This is Toronto's 4th ejection of 2018, 2nd in the AL East (NYY 6; TOR 4; BAL 3; BOS 2; TB 1).
This is CC Sabathia's first ejection since June 7, 2015 (Dan Bellino; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).
This is John Gibbons' 4th ejection of 2018, 1st since May 6 (Jeremie Rehak; QOC = Y [Balk]).
This is Lance Barrett's first ejection since July 30, 2017 (Todd Steverson; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 7/7/18 | Video as follows:

UEFL's MLB Umpire Sabermetrics - June 2018

UEFL's MLB Umpire Sabermetrics report for June 2018 features 85 ejections and 684 Replay Reviews through 1,236 regular season games played (50.9% complete). Click here for last month's stats.

Though ejection #s are projected to decrease year-over-year, based on current rates, replays are projected to remain at an equitable level.

The attached Most & Least Accurate Umpires, Replay Review contains the top and bottom of the Replay Review table ordinarily found in the "Read More" detailed section of the monthly report.

Related: Visit our Replay Review Statistics and Sabermetrics page for daily-updated umpire stats. This page includes Replay Review Rankings sorted by umpire, by team, and by call type. Daily ejections information is available at our Ejection List page.

Summary, Ejections.
>> 85 Total Regular Season Ejections through June 30, 2018 (on pace for 167 ejections this season).
>> Umpires were 72.7% accurate on calls associated with ejection.
>> The San Diego Padres led MLB in ejections. The Yankees led the American League.
>> Managers Craig Counsell, Ron Gardenhire, John Gibbons & Andy Green led MLB in ejections.
>> Player Matt Kemp led MLB players in ejections. Marwin Gonzalez led the American League.
>> Umpire Brian Gorman led all umpires in ejections.
>> Chief Brian Gorman's crew led all umpire crews in ejections.
>> Most ejections occurred in the 3rd inning; Ejections from 7th and on comprised 44% of all tosses.
>> Most ejections occurred on Wednesday. Weekend series (Fri-Sun) featured 38% of all heave-ho's.
>> The most common reason for ejection was Balls/Strikes, followed by Fighting.
>> All else equal, a team tied at the time of ejection ended up winning the game 62.1% of the time.

Summary, Replay Reviews.
>> 684 Total Replay Reviews, of which calls were affirmed 52.0% of the time (48.0% overturned).
>> The Braves and Cardinals used replay more than any other team, but were fairly unsuccessful.
>> The Kansas City Royals were the League's most successful team in review (19-for-23).
>> The BAL Orioles experienced fewer reviews than any other team.
>> The San Diego Padres were the worst MLB team in terms of Replay success (5-for-22).
>> Umpires Carapazza, Cooper & O'Nora were most reviewed.
>> Fieldin Culbreth's crew led all of baseball in replay activity, and performed at league average.
>> Umpire Gerry Davis led in accuracy (8/9).
>> Umpire Shane Livensparger experienced the highest rate of calls overturned by replay (0/2).
>> Umpire Eric Cooper had the most number of calls overturned by replay (9 overturns).
>> The 8th inning had more reviews than any other inning. 44% of all reviews occurred from 7th-on.
>> Most reviews occurred on Saturday; Weekend series (Fri-Sun) featured 51% of all replays.
>> The most common reason for review was Out/Safe (Force - 1st) followed by Out/Safe (Tag - In).

Most & Least Accurate Umpires, Replay Review (sorted by Review Affirmation Percentage [RAP]).

Rank	Umpire	RAP	Ovrtrn	Upheld
1	Davis, Gerry	88.9%	1	8
2	Fairchild, Chad	87.5%	1	7
3	Scheurwater, Stu	85.7%	1	6
4	Barber, Sean	83.3%	1	5
4	May, Ben	83.3%	1	5
6	Estabrook, Mike	80.0%	1	4
6	Barrett, Ted	80.0%	2	8
6	Reyburn, DJ	80.0%	2	8
9	Tumpane, John	77.8%	2	7
10	Danley, Kerwin	72.7%	3	8
10	Gorman, Brian	72.7%	3	8
12	Reynolds, Jim	71.4%	2	5
13	Hickox, Ed	70.0%	3	7
14	De Jesus, Ramon	66.7%	1	2
14	Libka, John	66.7%	1	2
14	Wolf, Jim	66.7%	1	2
14	Rackley, Dave	66.7%	2	4
14	Timmons, Tim	66.7%	2	4
14	Visconti, Jansen	66.7%	2	4
14	Lentz, Nic	66.7%	3	6
14	Torres, Carlos	66.7%	4	8
14	Welke, Bill	66.7%	4	8
14	Wendelstedt, Hunter	66.7%	4	8

---

77	Wegner, Mark	30.0%	7	3
78	Miller, Bill	28.6%	5	2
79	Meals, Jerry	27.3%	8	3
80	Tichenor, Todd	25.0%	3	1
80	Gibson, Greg	25.0%	6	2
82	Hallion, Tom	22.2%	7	2
83	Wolcott, Quinn	16.7%	5	1
84	Hamari, Adam	14.3%	6	1
84	Kellogg, Jeff	14.3%	6	1
87	O'Nora, Brian	14.3%
86	Cuzzi, Phil	12.5%	7	1
87	Additon, Ryan	0.0%	1
87	Livensparger, Shane	0.0%	2

Umpires with Fewest and Greatest # of Overturned Calls [NEW]
1 Overturn: Davis, Fairchild, Scheurwater, Barber, May, Estabrook, De Jesus, Libka, Wolf, Mahrley, Additon.
2 Overturns: [Many Tied].
---
7 Overturns: Barksdale, Cuzzi, Hallion, Hernandez, O'Nora, Wegner.
8 Overturns: Jerry Meals
9 Overturns: Eric Cooper.

For detailed sabermetric analysis of MLB umpire ejections and instant replay review outcomes, follow the "read more" link below.

MLB Ejection 087 - Jeff Nelson (2; Daniel Hudson)

1B Umpire Jeff Nelson ejected Dodgers P Daniel Hudson (instruction to avoid a balk; QOCY) in the top of the 6th inning of the Pirates-Dodgers game. With one out and none on, Pirates batter Elias Diaz singled on a line drive to right field off Hudson, placing a baserunner at first base and the balk rules into effect. With R1, as ensuing batter David Freese prepared to face Hudson, Nelson warned Hudson that his preparatory actions following the stretch in juggling the baseball with his throwing hand may violate Rule 5.07(a) regarding Set Position because the start-stop movement of the hand in spinning the baseball in front of his body may fail to satisfy the requirement that the pitcher enter Set Position "without interruption and in one continuous motion," the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Dodgers were leading, 6-2. The Dodgers ultimately won the contest, 6-4.

This is Jeff Nelson (45)'s second ejection of 2018.
Jeff Nelson now has 9 points in the UEFL Standings (5 Prev + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 9).
Crew Chief Jeff Nelson now has 2 points in Crew Division (1 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 2).
*After the game, Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said of the ejection, "Jeff was on it. There was something with the hand, showing the runner and carrying the baseball when you come set as opposed to any type of deception...Nelly had it right." As such, this is the rare instance of a QOCY ruling for a preventative officiating act.
*Rule 5.07(a)(2) states, "Preparatory to coming to a set position, the pitcher shall have one hand on his side; from this position he shall go to his set position as defined in Rule 5.07(a)(2) without interruption and in one continuous motion." Set Position is established by placing both hands in front of the body and, with runners on, coming to a complete stop.

This is the 87th ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 44th player ejection of 2018. Prior to ejection, Hudson's line was 0.1 IP, H, SO.
This is LA-NL's 6th ejection of 2018, T-1st in the NL West (LAD, SD 6; ARI, COL, SF 4).
This is Daniel Hudson's first career MLB ejection.
This is Jeff Nelson's 2nd ejection of 2018, 1st since May 15 (Scott Servais; QOC = Y [Interference]).

Wrap: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 7/4/18 | Video as follows:

Intro - Left Field Umpire Podcast & Q's for Bob Davidson

Hi UEFL'ers. Over the past few days, we have been fortunate to be graced in the comments by the presence of former big leaguer Bob Davidson, a World Series umpire who retired from professional baseball in 2016 after 30 years, 3911 regular season games, and 166 major league ejections following not one, but two journeys through the minor leagues to reach the show.

Bob Davidson is here!

On this Independence Day, we celebrate the persistence and dedication of former MLB #61 to his craft.

Now, then, is as good a time as any to announce the impending debut of our new podcast, The Plate Meeting, A Left Field Umpire Podcast, where we talk umpiring with umpires, and discuss officiating related issues, including analysis or other conversation pertaining to plays, ejections, rules, and more.

As the Close Call Sports & Umpire Ejection Fantasy League header states, this website's purpose is to objectively track and analyze controversial calls, ejections, replay reviews, and related issues.

Our inaugural guest for the show will be Bob Davidson, who, from his years on the field, has demonstrated a no holds barred approach to umpiring, and that's how the show will go, too.

Related Audio: Bob Davidson Podcast Teaser. (Embedded below; click the image/video to play).

The Plate Meeting - A LF Umpire Podcast.

Commissioner Tmac has been working overtime in this regard, and Bob has graciously agreed to delight us with stories and to discuss a wide variety of topics that may pop up on the show. Put simply, we're going to talk umpiring with an umpire.

So we need your help.

What questions do you have for Bob Davidson that you'd like answered during Episode 1 of The Plate Meeting (A LF Umpire Podcast)?

There are two ways to submit your questions:
1) Reply as a comment to this post, or;
2) Call us at (507) 400-UEFL [aka (507) 400-8335] and leave a voicemail.

We'll be compiling your Q's over the next few days and "holiday" weekend, and record our inaugural episode shortly thereafter, with a planned release scheduled for the All-Star Break.  Also,  If you have a story about Bob you'd like to share, leave us a voicemail and maybe we'll play it during the podcast.

And if you have any ideas for content you'd like to see, feel free to leave a comment or voicemail!

Brett Gardner Criticizes MLB's Pace-of-Play Fines

Major League Baseball's practice of fining repeat pace-of-play violators isn't sitting well with at least one player, as Brett Gardner of the Yankees told Newsday of a recent letter from MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre informing him of his most recent monetary fine, which reportedly brings Gardner's total to six pace-of-play violations.

Gardner is unhappy about MLB's fines.

Unlike the NBA's disciplinary system, which publicly discloses fines issued to players—most basketball fines these days are due to technical fouls—MLB, perhaps due to its collective bargaining agreement with the players' association, keeps specific dollar amounts under wraps.

For instance, a third-party MLB Fines & Suspensions page, hosted by USA Today partner Spotrac, which also hosts the detailed NBA Fines & Suspensions page, takes only baseball's publicly announced suspensions and prorates the games missed over a player's yearly salary to estimate money lost. Fines alone are not announced—with the exception of certain high-profile cases, such as Ian Kinsler's $10,000 fine for his over-the-top post-game criticism of Angel Hernandez, which led to last year's World Umpires Association's white wristband protest, which in turn allegedly spurred MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to threaten to start disciplining umpires who engaged in the wristband protest. As a result, the protest was dropped after one day.
Related Post: Fined - Kinsler Not Suspended for Hernandez Comments (8/18/17).
Related Post: WUA-MLB Relations Deteriorate with New Umpire Protest (8/19/17).
Related Post: WUA Secures Commissioner Meeting, Suspends Protest (8/20/17).
Related Post: Token Gesture - Kinsler Fined $10k, .09% of $11m Salary (8/21/17).

In 2015, the MLB & MLBPA jointly announced a warning-and-fine system for pace of play regulations, noting that discipline would be issued for "flagrant violators" while proceeds from these fines would be donated to the MLB Players Trust charitable foundation. The fines are not publicly specified.
Related Post: MLB Releases Pace of Game, Replay Changes for 2015 (2/20/15).

In short, if word about baseball's secret fines gets out, it's because the fined player has spread it.

Gardner thus disclosed the otherwise-unspecified fines in an expression of exasperation: "My agent started taking care of it. I told them don't talk to me about it. I've got more things to worry about than taking three seconds too long to get to the box. Someone else can [attempt pickoffs] 27 times in a game and waste 15 minutes of everybody's time, and I get fined thousands of dollars taking three seconds too long to get in the box."

2018 featured some changes, but no clock.

Meanwhile, Baltimore's Adam Jones said in an interview on MLB Network Radio that he was fined $50,000 during the 2017 season for pace-of-play violations.

After assuring club owners that pace-of-play changes were coming during the November 2017 owners' meeting, Manfred later announced that baseball would not institute a pitch clock at this time, and instead allow the players to attempt to solve the pace-of-play issue themselves, introducing mound visit limits and tweaks to the existing inning break and pitching change clocks instead.

Various statements at the time implied that if the players were unable to remedy the issue on the field, the league might step in with a pitch clock or other initiatives ahead of 2019 or other future seasons.
Related Post: Rob Manfred Vows Pace of Play Rules Changes for 2018 (11/16/17).
Related Post: Players Reject Pace of Play Proposal, Override Probable (1/19/18).
Related Post: 2018 Pace of Play Changes Limit Mound Visits, No Clock

MLB Ejection 086 - Eric Cooper (2; Jim Riggleman)

HP Umpire Eric Cooper ejected Reds Manager Jim Riggleman (Unsportsmanlike-NEC/intentional walk signal) in the top of the 12th inning of the White Sox-Reds game. With one out and two on (R1, R3), Riggleman attempted to intentionally walk White Sox batter Daniel Palka, resulting in an ejection. Replays indicate Riggleman indicated his intent to walk Palka by gesturing with four fingers of his right hand outstretched, but displayed this sign when Cooper was not looking at the Reds dugout due to the ball remaining live after the preceding walk to batter Avisail Garcia; thus, Cooper requested a visual sign from Riggleman that Riggleman thought Cooper had seen when Cooper hadn't seen it; a verbal instruction is not valid for a no-pitch intentional walk, the sign must be visual, the call was irrecusable.* Ruling was reviewed and affirmed (5-2-2), the call was irrecusable. At the time of the ejection, the White Sox were leading, 12-8. The White Sox ultimately won the contest, 12-8, in 12 innings.

This is Eric Cooper (56)'s second ejection of 2018.
Eric Cooper now has 3 points in the UEFL Standings (1 Prev + 2 MLB + 0 Irrecusable Call = 3).
Crew Chief Gary Cederstrom now has 8 points in Crew Division (7 Previous + 1 Irrecusable Call = 8).
*Rule 5.05(b)(1) Comment states, "A batter who is entitled to first base because of a base on balls, including an award of first base to a batter by an umpire following a signal from a manager, must go to first base and touch the base before other base runners are forced to advance."

This is the 86th ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 35th Manager ejection of 2018.
This is Cincinnati's 2nd ejection of 2018, T-3rd in the NL Central (CHC, MIL 4; CIN, PIT 2; STL 1).
This is Jim Riggleman's first ejection since June 5, 2011 (Rob Drake; QOC = Y [Throwing At]).
This is Eric Cooper's 2nd ejection of 2018, 1st since March 30 (Ketel Marte; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds, 7/3/18 | Video as follows:

Featured Minor Ejection - Atlantic League Bench Clearer

Benches cleared during a manager-umpire argument in the Atlantic League over the weekend as Long Island Ducks pitcher John Brownell incited a fight by taunting the opposing Road Warriors dugout after hitting batter Matt Hibbert with a pitch, HP Umpire Warren Nicholson ruling that Hibbert failed to make an attempt to avoid being touched by the pitched ball, which prompted the managerial discussion that generated the misdirection to begin with.

Benches cleared in Long Island.

The Play: In the top of the 3rd inning of Saturday's Road Warriors-Ducks game, batter Hibbert took a 1-2 pitch from Brownell, resulting in a hit-by-pitch as broadcasters pondered that Hibbert may not have tried to avoid being touched. In the 4th, following several pitches on the inner half, Hibbert took a 0-2 Brownell pitch for an apparent hit-by-pitch, with HP Umpire Nicholson keeping Hibbert at the plate, judging that the batter made no attempt to avoid being touched (and possibly leaned into the pitch).

During Nicholson's subsequent discussion with Road Warriors Manager Ellie Rodriguez, Brownell taunted the visiting dugout, resulting in a bench clearing incident during which 1B Umpire and Crew Chief Fred DeJesus ejected Brownell for inciting the benches to clear and Ducks Manager Kevin Baez for arguing Brownell's ejection.

At the time of the ejections, the Road Warriors were leading, 3-0. The Warriors ultimately won the contest, 5-2.

Wrap: Road Warriors vs. Long Island Ducks (Atlantic League), 6/30/18 | Video as follows: