Injury Scout - Brian Knight Works SF With Broken Foot

After a foul ball broke Brian Knight's left foot during the 6th inning of Friday's Dodgers-Giants game, the veteran home plate umpire remained in the contest until its completion, some 90 minutes and 110 pitches later.

Knight was struck by a foul in the foot.

In the top of the 6th, Dodgers batter Chris Taylor fouled several pitches from Giants starter Madison Bumgarner, one of which struck the toe portion of plate umpire Knight's left plate shoe, reportedly resulting in a fracture; Knight walked with a noticeable limp in the aftermath of the fateful foul.

Knight remained in the game, with 1B Umpire and Crew Chief Gerry Davis, 2B Umpire Todd Tichenor, and 3B Umpire Pat Hoberg maintaining their positions in the field.

In a coincidental turn of events, Knight was replaced at third base on Saturday by umpire Ed Hickox; it was Hickox in 2017 who suffered a season-ending foot injury as the result of a line drive in San Francisco.
Related Post: Injury Scout - Hickox Out After Line Drive to Foot (7/26/17).

Last Game: September 28 | Return to Play: 2019 | Time Absent: Rest of Season | Video as follows:

Plate Meeting Podcast 5 - Chris Hubler & JEAPU Play

Welcome to the fifth episode of The Plate Meeting, a LF Umpire Podcast from Close Call Sports, where we talk umpiring with umpires. In episode 5, Tmac and Gil chat with MiLB veteran and Jim Evans Academy clinician Chris Hubler about his professional baseball career, JEAPU affiliation, and modern changes to the game.

We also take a phone call from the audience, a certain "Mike Gilbert" from "Fort Collins, Colorado" (29-year American League umpire Jim Evans), who asks a convoluted JEAPU-caliber quiz question about a play featuring a balk, base hit, and batting-out-of-order appeal. For extra credit, we open the Podcast up to a UEFL Case Play by adding catcher's interference to the equation (scroll down for more about this Podcast version of our UEFL Case Play series)

Click the below "play" button to hear Episode 5 - Chris Hubler's View and Jim Evans' Play, Too, or visit the show online at https://anchor.fm/the-plate-meeting to subscribe. The Plate Meeting is also available through the iTunes store's podcasts section (The Plate Meeting on iTunes), Google Podcasts, TuneIn, and other podcast providers listed on the Anchor.fm page.

Additional Links, Videos, and Other Media:
The following section contains relevant links, footnotes, or additional commentary relative to subjects discussed on the show. Click the following links for this episode to access the relevant videos.

The Plate Meeting is brought to you by OSIP, where Outstanding Sportsmanship Is Paramount.

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Related Link: Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring's 2018 California Classic (10/22-10/27).

Related Link: United Umpires Profile of Chris Hubler || Force 3 Pro Gear.

UEFL Case Play 2018-9 - The JEAPU Balk and Catcher's Interference Puzzler

Straight from the Podcast to a Case Play! With a runner on third and less than two out, the pitcher is called for a balk during his delivery. He nonetheless completes his pitch and the batter swings and hits a line drive to right field, easily jogging to first base safely, as the plate umpire calls catcher's interference because during his swing, the batter's bat touched the catcher's glove. Baserunner R3 remains on third base for the entirety of the play. After the umpires call "Time," the defensive manager appeals to the plate umpire that the offense has batted out of turn. The UIC confirms that the offense indeed sent the improper batter to the plate. What's the call?

Injury Scout - Fletcher Leaves on Lower Leg Limp

Andy Fletcher left Friday's Yankees-Red Sox game following a lower leg injury sustained while making a call on a ball hit off the Green Monster at Fenway Park.

In the top of the 4th inning, Yankees batter Miguel Andujar hit a fly ball to the left field wall, fielded by Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who threw to second baseman Ian Kinsler as Andujar slid into second base, Fletcher ruling the runner safe as he hopped back to the infield, appearing to favor his right calf.

Fletcher subsequently left the game, as 1B Umpire Manny Gonzalez and 3B Umpire and crew chief Jeff Nelson managed the bases with HP Umpire Laz Diaz remaining behind the plate.

Relevant Injury History: N/A.

Last Game: September 28 | Return to Play: October 5  | Time Absent: 6 Days | Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 178-179 - Vic Carapazza (2-3; NYY x2)

HP Umpire Vic Carapazza ejected Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and Manager Aaron Boone (throwing at Rays batter Jesus Sucre after warnings; QOCU) in the bottom of the 6th inning of the Yankees-Rays game. With none out and none on, Rays batter Sucre took a first-pitch cutter from Sabathia for a hit-by-pitch. Replays indicate the pitch was located inside and struck Sucre in the left thigh; warnings had previously been issued after a prior inside pitch, the call was irrecusable. At the time of the ejections, the Yankees were leading, 11-0. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 12-1.

These are Vic Carapazza (19)'s second and third ejections of 2018.
Vic Carapazza now has 13 points in the UEFL Standings (9 Prev + 2*[2 MLB + 0 Irrecusable] = 13).
Crew Chief Jerry Layne now has 7 points in Crew Division (5 Previous + 2*[1 Irrecusable Call] = 7).

This is the 178th and 179th ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 87th player ejection of 2018. Prior to ejection, Sabathia's line was 5.0 IP, 0 ER.
This is the 73rd Manager ejection of 2018.
This is NY-AL's 10/11th ejection of 2018, 1st in the AL East (NYY 11; TOR 10; BOS 5; BAL, TB 3).
This is CC Sabathia's 2nd ejection of 2018, 1st since July 7 (Lance Barrett; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Aaron Boone's 4th ejection of 2018, 1st since August 31 (Nic Lentz; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Vic Carapazza's 2/3rd ejection of 2018, 1st since April 17 (Albert Pujols; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays, 9/27/18 | Video as follows:

Tmac's Teachable - Slide Review and Replay, Too

Today's Tmac's Teachable Moments audio-visual episode concerns Replay Review and a slide rule non-interference play deemed non-reviewable. We revisit our 2017 proposal, "Let's Fix Replay," and analyze the new normal of baseball in the expanded replay review era—calling a runner out for momentarily breaking contact with a base by a fraction of an inch.

This slide was deemed not reviewable.

Slide Interference No-Call Not Reviewed
First, we visit Minnesota for a standard runner-on-first and less-than-two out situation with a ground ball hit up the middle to the shortstop, who flips to the second baseman as the runner from first base slides into, and beyond, the base. The second baseman sustains the contact, and, in doing so, is unable or otherwise fails to throw the ball to first base. 2B Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt declares the runner out at second, but declines to rule interference on the slide.

From our vantage point, this is a roll block-looking slide. Its severity might not be intentional—spikes caught in the dirt, etc.—but the effect is the same, with the runner appearing to roll, sideways, into the middle infielder, who in turn fails to complete a throw to first base.

Although Twins Manager Paul Molitor requests a review, the play comes back as unreviewable because the second baseman failed to complete an attempt to throw to first base (the precise language in the MLB Umpire Manual interpreting slide interference rule 6.01(j) is "In order to be considered an attempted double play, umpires should look for actions by the fielder associated with making a throw toward the next play...the fielder does not need to throw the ball for the umpire to call a violation of the rule, but he needs to demonstrate the intent to make a throw"). Yikes.

This brings us to point number two: Let's Fix Replay.
Related Post: Tmac's Teachable Moments - Let's Fix Replay (1/19/17).

U2 Blakney indicates the runner is off the base.

Though the related post from 2017 is far more detailed, here are the nuts and bolts of it: mic the crew chief or otherwise clearly communicate replay decisions, require the managers to challenge immediately rather than this "hold" and "clubhouse review" phase of a 30-second delay, give the manager a beanbag and put a stricter time limit on said bag, expand the scope of replay, and limit replay review duration.

Finally, we visit Cleveland to see 2B Umpire Ryan Blakney officiating to the modern era of replay: Baserunner Francisco Lindor appears to slide safely into second base on a stolen base attempt, but Blakney stays with the play and calls Lindor out for briefly breaking contact with the base as the tag is maintained. In a game or league, such as MLB, with video replay, this is a fantastic call because it plays to the video evidence. In that sense, the call is right.

In a league without replay, watch out. Though oversliding remains a concern at all levels of baseball, the "he's off the bag by one inch" argument may not be as easy to make in a non-video level of ball. In that case, we talk about getting the "play" correct as opposed to the "call."

We've heard the phrase "expected call" before, and this isn't an instruction to explicitly officiate to the expected call nor to officiate to the video-supported "one inch margin" call—this is about reading the play and effecting a call that fits the game. By all means, if it's clear that the runner overslid and is out, then bang it as such, but don't guess or assume—this isn't a crew-saver call and doesn't need any overstepping. Be patient, see the entire play, and call it.

Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 176-177 - Will Little (8-9; STL x2)

HP Umpire Will Little ejected Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter and Manager Mike Shildt (strike three call; QOCY) in the bottom of the 7th inning of the Brewers-Cardinals game. With none out and one on (R1), Carpenter took a 2-2 knuckle curve from Brewers pitcher Corey Knebel for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the outer edge of home plate and at the midpoint (px -.900, pz 3.631 [sz_top 3.49 / RAD 3.613 / MOE 3.696]), and that all other pitches during the at-bat were properly officiated, the call was correct.* At the time of the ejections, the Brewers were leading, 7-4. The Brewers ultimately won the contest, 12-4.

These are Will Little (93)'s eighth and ninth ejections of 2018.
Will Little now has 15 points in the UEFL Standings (7 Prev + 2*[2 MLB + 2 Correct Call] = 15).
Crew Chief Ted Barrett now has 8 points in Crew Division (6 Previous + 2*[1 Correct Call] = 8).
*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.
This pitch was located .168 horizontal and/or 0.78 vertical inches from being deemed an incorrect call.

This is the 176th, 177th ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 86th player ejection of 2018. Prior to ejection, Carpenter was 0-3 (2 SO) in the contest.
This is the 72nd Manager ejection of 2018.
This is St. Louis' 5/6th ejection of 2018, 3rd in the NL Central (CHC 10; MIL 9; STL 6; PIT 4; CIN 3).
This is Matt Carpenter's 2nd ejection of 2018, 1st since Sept 9 (Lance Barrett; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Mike Shildt's 2nd ejection of 2018, 1st since Sept 9 (Lance Barrett; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Will Little's 8/9th ejection of 2018, 1st since August 31 (Rick Porcello; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals, 9/25/18 | Video as follows:

Fined - Carlos Gomez to Appeal Financial Penalty

The MLB Office of the Commissioner reportedly fined, but did not suspend, Tampa Bay's Carlos Gomez after the Rays outfielder took to Twitter and live-streaming website Periscope to criticize umpire Andy Fletcher and staff. MLBUA had sought action from the Commissioner's office in a Sunday statement that made reference to a new trend of "players taking their emotions and feelings to the press and twitter to blast our umpires."

In follow-up comments to Tampa Bay Times writer Marc Topkin, Gomez took it a step further, criticizing Fletcher for purportedly having "got in my face": "What does that mean? I'm a man. You do that to me in the street I'm going to slap the (crap) out of you."

As for "slap the crap"...this is not a good look for a sport with recent domestic violence problems.

Deja Vu: You might recall that several weeks ago, Cubs infielder Javier Baez similarly criticized an umpire's attitude, blaming Joe West for a first inning confrontation. Like Gomez, Baez referred to a key phrase that either resembles toxic masculinity and/or an inability to manage one's anger: "When somebody does that, I can’t control my attitude."
Related Post: Pot & Kettle - Baez Criticizes West for Confrontation (9/25/18).

Gomez also accused Fletcher of missing "more than 30 pitches, guaranteed" during Thursday's game.
Related Post: MLB Ejection 171 - Andy Fletcher (6; Carlos Gomez) (9/20/18).

Fact Check: As for the true/false nature of Gomez's claims, this one is categorically FALSE. In general, when a player accuses an umpire of certain statistical performance in such a public way, we run the numbers to see how accurate the player's claim really is. Of the 149 callable pitches Fletcher saw during September 20's Blue Jays-Rays game, pursuant to UEFL scoring rules, Fletcher officiated 144 pitches correctly (103/104 Balls + 41/45 Strikes = 144/149 = 96.6%). Yes, one of those misses was the strike three call to Gomez (by 0.48 inches).

No, Fletcher did not miss 30 pitches.

Because the number five is less than 30, we rate Gomez's claim as FALSE. I don't know if PolitiFact owns the phrase "Pants on Fire" by now, so I won't go anywhere but FALSE, but you get the idea...

Similarly, while UEFL f/x had the strike three call in question missing by less than half-an-inch, the league's internal grading mechanism purportedly did not flag this as an incorrect call. The problem, of course, is that the team's technology—essentially an uncorrected StatCast derivative not intended to adjudicate pitch calling—likely had this pitch off the plate by as many as two inches. Gomez in one of his Twitter tirades had alleged that the pitch missed by up to six inches. Obviously, the six-inch claim would also be false.

In its own Twitter posting, the Major League Baseball Umpires Association said this trend "is an attack on the integrity of the game. The MLBUA expects ACTION from the Commissioner's Office to uphold not only the integrity of THEIR umpires but the integrity of the game itself!"
Related Post: MLBUA Calls for BOC Action After Latest Umpire Abuse (9/23/18).

Rays skipper Kevin Cash was more diplomatic, saying Gomez's social media and public comments and blanket criticisms after the game were "probably not the best way to go about it."

Consistency: The League's reported decision to fine but not to suspend Gomez falls in line with its Kinsler decision in 2017. That move from MLB prompted WUA to protest the League's decision.
Related Post: Token Gesture - Kinsler Fined $10k, .09% of $11m Salary (8/21/17).
Related Post: WUA-MLB Relations Deteriorate with New Umpire Protest (8/19/17).

Counterpoint: Although we previously wrote how ineffective a fine is for a player who pointedly and directly said, "I got plenty of money, keep sending me fines...I don't care how they gonna react to this video...If they want to fine me, it's fine. I'm rich," Gomez also told Topkin that he plans to appeal the fine ("I don't think it's fair"), so perhaps Gomez's previous statement ("I don't care how they gonna react...if they want to fine me, it's fine") wasn't actually an accurate representation.

Reading Between the Lines: Meanwhile, MLBUA's choice of words in referring to "an attack on the integrity of the game" as the result of a recent trend of players taking to social media/the press after hours to air grievances and personal qualms with umpires may not be entirely coincidental.

The MLB Player's Association-MLB collective bargaining agreement contains the following clause: "The Chief Baseball Officer may choose to suspend a Player without pay for...(iv) making public statements that question the integrity of the game, the umpires, the Commissioner and/or other Commissioner’s Office personnel."

Major League Baseball's Chief Baseball Officer is Joe Torre.
Related Post: Fined - Kinsler Not Suspended for Hernandez Comments (8/18/17).

MLB Ejection 175 - Joe West (5; Joc Pederson)

HP Umpire Joe West ejected Dodgers LF Joc Pederson (strike one and two calls; QOCY) in the top of the 9th inning of the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game. With none out and two on (R2, R3), Pederson took 1-0 and 1-1 fastballs from Diamondbacks pitcher Yoshihisa Hirano before striking out swinging on a subsequent pitch. Replays indicate the 1-0 pitch was located over the outer half of home plate and above the hollow of the knee (px -.621, pz 1.649 [sz_bot 1.565]) and the 1-1 pitch was located over inner half of home plate and thigh high (px .203, pz 2.088), the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Dodgers were leading, 6-3. The Dodgers ultimately won the contest, 7-4.

This is Joe West (22)'s fifth ejection of 2018.
Joe West now has 21 points in the UEFL Standings (17 Prev + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 21).
Crew Chief Joe West now has 2 points in Crew Division (1 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 2).

This is the 175th ejection report of the 2018 MLB regular season.
This is the 85th player ejection of 2018. Prior to ejection, Pederson was 0-2 (SO) in the contest.
This is LA-NL's 8th ejection of 2018, T-1st in the NL West (LAD, SF 8; ARI, SD 7; COL 5).
This is Joc Pederson's first ejection since April 6, 2017 (David Rackley; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Joe West's 5th ejection of 2018, 1st since Sept 22 (Rick Renteria; QOC = Y [Replay Review]).

Wrap: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, 9/24/18 | Video as follows:

MLBUA Calls for BOC Action After Latest Umpire Abuse

The Major League Baseball Umpires Association called upon the MLB Office of the Commissioner to address several recent instances of personal attacks on officials in a move reminiscent of MLBUA's August 2017 wristband stance in protest of umpire abuse and verbal attacks similar to those before baseball today.

MLBUA's call to action follows postgame comments by White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, ejected Saturday night after continued argument with Joe West concerning a Replay Review decision that confirmed West's slide rule interference no-call, who said of West, "I don’t have much to say about him; everybody knows he’s terrible."
Related Post: MLB Ejections 173-174 - Joe West (3-4; CWS x2) (9/22/18).

The umpires' union put out a brief statement Sunday afternoon, calling on MLB to take action:

This growing trend is an attack on the integrity of the game. The MLBUA expects ACTION from the Commissioner’s Office to uphold not only the integrity of THEIR umpires but the integrity of the game itself! #MLB #MLBUA #MLBPA

And added to it, clarifying the "growing trend" from the prior statement:

Umpires have respected this game, and have handled the details of ejections for everyone's sake including the Office of the Commissioner with utmost privacy. Verbal exchanges on the field and ejections used to be handled and left on the field and reported to the office. *New trend, players taking their emotions and feelings to the press and twitter to blast our umpires. 

Video: Gomez called for replacing plate umps.

In a straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back theme, Anderson's postgame criticism of West Saturday night follows ejected Rays player Carlos Gomez's Twitter rant against umpire Andy Fletcher on Thursday evening and Friday morning. Gomez, whom Fletcher ejected for arguing a strike three call, wrote on the social media website, "If anyone needed to be ejected out of tonight's game it was Andy Fletcher!!"

Gomez also uploaded multiple videos of the pitch in question (opting to record portions of the video showing where the catcher caught the ball rather than where the pitch crossed home plate) and broadcast several live streams on Periscope in which he continued to verbally rail against Fletcher, claiming that Fletcher missed 30+ calls, failed to do his job, and that the league must institute computerized pitch calling in order to combat what Gomez deemed a league-wide problem with umpires, sarcastically writing, "👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽heck of a job out there tonight Andy Fletcher!"

Gomez also called for penalties for perceived poor plate performances by sending the umpire down to the minor leagues, fining the umpire, and/or releasing the umpire from service.

Gomez concluded his remarks by imploring his MLB player colleagues: "@MLB @MLB_PLAYERS this is why we need an electronic strike zone!! This is ridiculous!"

UEFL QOC for that pitch was incorrect, by 1/2 of an inch; Uncorrected Statcast (Pitchcast) had the pitch as off the plate by as much as two inches, while the league's umpire grading system reportedly did not flag the pitch as incorrect. This discrepancy across systems is part of the problem, which we will cover in a later article.
Related Post: MLB Ejection 171 - Andy Fletcher (6; Carlos Gomez) (9/20/18).

This, in turn, follows Ben Zobrist's August 14, 2018 ejection at the hands of HP Umpire Phil Cuzzi, purportedly for invoking the electronic strike zone motif during his playing field argument with Cuzzi. UEFL QOC for that pitch was incorrect, by 2/3 of an inch.
Related Post: MLB Ejections 119-120 - Phil Cuzzi (1-2; Maddon, Zobrist) (8/14/18).

In June of this season, ejected Royals pitcher Danny Duffy made it personal with HP Umpire John Tumpane, of whom Duffy stated, "I’m personally tired of getting punked by Tumpane. I think we all are. And I think it needs to be looked at. I’m not saying there’s bias there but I’m sure it will go back to whoever it needs to go back to." Because Duffy's remarks concerned an entire game and umpire-team history rather than just a single pitch, we ran the numbers and concluded, "The Quality of Correctness associated with all five of these Tumpane-KC ejections is QOCY (QOC% = 100%)."
Related Post: Ejected Duffy Makes it Personal in KC vs Tumpane Claim (6/18/18).

In early May, Mets player Todd Frazier said that umpire pitch calls were a problem for "everybody" and that, "These umpires have got to get better." For what it's worth, we also ran the numbers for Frazier and determined his argument was without merit.
Related Post: Todd Frazier - "These Umpires Have Got to Get Better" (5/3/18).

It all started with MLB's lax discipline in 2017.

History: The then-branded WUA and Office of the Commissioner found themselves at odds in August 2017, when WUA announced a white wristband protest following MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre's decision to fine, but not suspend, Ian Kinsler for postgame personal remarks about umpire Angel Hernandez. According to the numbers, Kinsler's $10,000 fine represented less than one tenth of one percent of his salary.

To illustrate just how meaningless a $10,000 fine is to a player who earns a multi-million dollar salary, consider this comparison: for a person drawing a $50,000 annual salary, a 0.09% fine corresponds to a financial penalty of $45.
Related Post: Token Gesture - Kinsler Fined $10k, .09% of $11m Salary (8/21/17).
Related Post: WUA-MLB Relations Deteriorate with New Umpire Protest (8/19/17).
Related Post: Fined - Kinsler Not Suspended for Hernandez Comments (8/18/17).

Then there's this whole "Did They Didn't They" issue of an upset pitcher possibly targeting an umpire.
Related Post: Did Detroit Throw at Umpire Wolcott? A Visual Analysis (9/14/17).

Gil's Call: Whatever the MLB Commissioner's Office discussed with the World Umpires Association Governing Board in 2017, the meeting whose announcement suspended the white wristband protest after just one day, clearly hasn't worked. Just one year removed from the Kinsler fiasco, MLBUA is again calling attention to a recent trend of umpire abuse—specifically continuing the argument after the game is over in order to complain about the umpires—and imploring Commissioner Rob Manfred's office to take steps to address it.
Related Post: WUA Secures Commissioner Meeting, Suspends Protest (8/20/17).

Worse, still, we know that sports across the continent are suffering from referee and umpire shortages due in large part to abuse. From youth to high school, and player/coaches to fans, this endemic problem is at the heart of what MLBUA deems "an attack on the integrity of the game." USA Today has called it a "culture of abuse," and MLBUA is far from alone in wanting abuse curtailed.

When taken to an extreme, officials' abuse has led to violence and even injury/death, all thanks to a cultural problem that society at large cares very little about dealing with...generally because, "it's sports!"

MLB has a perverse interest in allowing abuse.

One thing we know will not work to combat the problem is the application of financial penalties without further discipline. When a player can pay just one-tenth of one percent of a salary, without worrying about missing any playing time, the penalty is simply ineffective.

If MLB wants its punishment to have any teeth (which, as we've discussed many times in the past, it doesn't), it will have to begin issuing suspensions. Players will continue to abuse umpires one way or another—that includes postgame verbal attacks—if the only penalty is a lighter pocketbook.
Related Post: Psychology & Marketing - Why MLB Discipline is Weak (5/19/16).

But don't take my word for it.

As Gomez said in one of his videos on September 20, 2018, encapsulating the entire argument against the sole imposition of paltry financial penalties for severe verbal misconduct: "I got plenty of money, keep sending me fines...I don't care how they gonna react to this video...If they want to fine me, it's fine. I'm rich...This year, we have too many replays that you f** up."

Indy (Atlantic) Ejection II - Derek Moccia (John Brownell)

For the second consecutive day, a Long Island Ducks coach was ejected during the Liberty Division playoff series vs the Somerset Patriots, as HP Umpire Derek Moccia ejected John Brownell for arguing Jorge Teran's out call on the bases. Having lost its second consecutive game, ejectee John Brownell's Ducks moved into a 2-2 tie with Somerset in the best-of-five series.

Report: HP Umpire Derek Moccia ejected Long Island Ducks Pitching Coach John Brownell* (1B Umpire Jorge Teran's out call [non-pulled foot]; QOCY) in the top of the 7th inning of the Ducks-Patriots game. With none out and none on, Ducks batter Lew Ford hit a ground ball to Patroits shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez, who threw to first baseman Jayce Boyd as Ford arrived at first base. Replays indicate that as Boyd leapt in the air to receive the throw, his foot broke contact with first base, but appeared to return to a legal tag of first base prior to Ford's arrival, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Patriots were leading, 5-2. The Patriots ultimately won the contest, 5-3.

Teran ejected Ducks Manager Kevin Baez during Game 3 of this same Ducks-Patriots series.
Related Post: Indy (Atlantic League) Ejection - Jorge Teran (Kevin Baez) (9/21/18).

*Brownell is a pitcher in the Long Island organization who is presently on the Disabled List. He is listed on the LI staff as a Pitching Coach for the 2018 Atlantic League postseason.

Wrap: Long Island Ducks vs. Somerset Patriots (Atlantic League), 9/22/18 | Video as follows: