MLB Ejection 121 - Edwin Moscoso (1; Derek Shelton)

HP Umpire Edwin Moscoso ejected Pirates manager Derek Shelton (check swing ball two call) in the bottom of the 8th inning of the #Pirates-#Orioles game. With two out and the bases loaded, Orioles batter Brett Phillips attempted to check his swing on a 1-0 sinker from Pirates pitcher Yohan Ramirez, ruled a ball by Moscoso and a swinging strike on appeal by 3B Umpire Chris Conroy working from C position to the shortstop side of second base due to this game being played with a crew of three umpires. Play was reviewed and adjudicated (6-0) by the UEFL Appeals Board, the call was CORRECT. At the time of the ejection, the Orioles were leading, 1-0. The Orioles ultimately won the contest, 1-0.

This is Edwin Moscoso (109)'s 1st ejection of 2022.

Edwin Moscoso now has ? points in the UEFL Standings.

Crew Chief Ron Kulpa now has ? points in Crew Division.

This is the 121st ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is 65th manager ejection of 2022.

This is Pittsburgh's 4th ejection of 2022, T-2nd in the NL Central (CHC 8; MIL, PIT, STL 4; CIN 2).

This is Derek Shelton's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since July 9 (Roberto Ortiz; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Edwin Moscoso's 1st ejection since Sept 8, 2021 (Matt Blake; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Baltimore Orioles, 8/5/22 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 120 - Will Little (3; Corey Ragsdale)

1B Umpire Will Little ejected Rangers 1B Coach Corey Ragsdale (Replay Review decision that overturned Little's out [catch] call to safe [drop]; QOCN) in the top of the 3rd inning of the #WhiteSox-#Rangers game. With one out and one on (R1), White Sox batter Jose Abreu hit a 1-1 cutter from Rangers pitcher Cole Ragans on a fly ball to right fielder Adolis Garcia, who attempted to catch the ball, ruled an out by 2B Umpire Fairchild and overturned via Replay Review following a challenge by White Sox manager Tony La Russa to no catch. Replays indicate Garcia failed to establish secure possession of the baseball in his glove such that the ball's release was voluntary and intentional, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Rangers were leading, 1-0. The Rangers ultimately won the contest, 3-2.

This is Will Little (93)'s 3rd ejection of 2022.

Will Little now has 9 points in the UEFL Standings (5 Prev + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 9).

Crew Chief Chad Fairchild now has 4 points in Crew Division (3 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 4).

OBR's Definition of Terms: "A CATCH is the act of a fielder in getting secure possession in their hand or glove of a ball in flight and firmly holding it; providing they do not use their cap, protector, pocket, or any other part of their uniform in getting possession...

In establishing the validity of the catch, the fielder shall hold the ball long enough to prove that they have complete control of the ball and that their release of the ball is voluntary and intentional. If the fielder has made the catch and drops the ball while in the act of making a throw following the catch, the ball shall be adjudged to have been caught."

This is the 120th ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is Texas' 1st ejection of 2022, 1st in the AL West (LAA 9; SEA 7; HOU 6; OAK 4; TEX 1).

This is Corey Ragsdale's first career MLB ejection.

This is Will Little's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since May 26 (David Ross; QOC = U [Warnings NC]).

Wrap: Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers, 8/4/22 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 119 - Bill Welke (3; Alex Cora)

HP Umpire Bill Welke ejected Red Sox manager Alex Cora (Replay Review decision that upheld HR [out of play fair ball] call by 3B Umpire Gabe Morales; QOCN) in the bottom of the 7th inning of the #RedSox-#Royals game. With none out and two on, Royals batter Salvador Perez hit a 0-0 fastball from Red Sox pitcher Darwinzon Hernandez on a line drive to left field, ruled a home run by 3B umpire Gabe Morales and upheld as such following a challenge by Red Sox manager Cora. Replays indicate the batted ball struck the top corner of the outfield wall/padding adjacent to the foul pole but did not make contact with the foul pole above the fence-line before rebounding into the field of play, the call was incorrect.* At the time of the ejection, the Royals were leading, 7-3. The Royals ultimately won the contest, 7-3.

This is Bill Welke (3)'s 3rd ejection of 2022.

Bill Welke now has -2 points in the UEFL Standings (0 Previous + 2 MLB - 4 Incorrect Call = -2).

Crew Chief Bill Welke now has 1 point in Crew Division (1 Previous + 0 Incorrect Call = 1).

*The Kauffman Stadium Ground Rules provide that a "batted ball in flight that strikes any portion of the seating area safety fencing, including the railings," shall be considered in play similar to a ball striking the top of an outfield wall. If the ball then bounds over the outfield wall and out of play, it is a home run. If it bounds back onto the playing field, it is considered in play. A ball striking a foul pole below the fence-line shall be considered in play, similar to a ball hitting off the outfield wall.

Pursuant to the universal ground rules, "all yellow lines are in play."

This is the 119th ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is the 64th manager ejection of 2022.

This is Boston's 4th ejection of 2022, 3rd in the AL East (NYY, TOR 8; BOS 4; BAL, TB 3).

This is Alex Cora's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since May 11 (Adam Beck; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Bill Welke's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since May 22 (Kevin Cash; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals, 8/4/22 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 117-118 - Phil Cuzzi (1-2; Garcia, Kapler)

1B Umpire Phil Cuzzi ejected Giants pitcher Jarlin Garcia and manager Gabe Kapler (Unsportsmanlike-NEC) after the top of the 6th inning of the #Dodgers-#Giants game. With two out and none on, Dodgers batter James Outman took a 1-2 fastball from Giants pitcher Garcia for a called third strike by HP Umpire Dan Bellino. Replays indicate that following the strikeout, Garcia made a gesture directed at the Dodgers; Cuzzi ejected Kapler for arguing Garcia's ejection, the call was irrecusable. At the time of the ejection, the Dodgers were leading, 4-2. The Dodgers ultimately won the contest, 5-3.

These are Phil Cuzzi (10)'s 1st and 2nd ejections of 2022.

Phil Cuzzi now has 6 points in the UEFL Standings (2 Prev + 2*[2 MLB + 0 Irrecusable Call] = 6).

Crew Chief Dan Bellino now has 4 points in Crew Division (2 Previous + 2 Irrecusable Call = 4).

These are the 117th and 118th ejection reports of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is the 39th player ejection of 2022. Prior to ejection, Garcia's line was 1.0 IP, 0 R, 2 SO.

This is the 63rd manager ejection of 2022.

This is San Francisco's 3/4th ejection of 2022, T-1st in the NL West (SD, SF 4; ARI 3; COL 2; LAD 1).

This is Jarlin Garcia's first career MLB ejection.

This is Gabe Kapler's 1st ejection since Sept 15, 2019 (Gabe Morales; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Phil Cuzzi's 1st ejection since October 2, 2021 (Jordy Mercer; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants, 8/4/22 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 115-116 - Jerry Meals (1-2; Yelich, Counsell)

HP Umpire Jerry Meals ejected Brewers DH Christian Yelich (strike three call; QOCY) in the top of the 7th inning of the #Brewers-#Pirates game. With two out and none on, Yelich took a 2-2 slider from Pirates pitcher Yohan Ramirez for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the outer edge of home plate and at the hollow of the knee (px -0.78, pz 1.56 [sz_bot 1.73 / MOE 1.60 / MOE 1.52]) and that all other pitches during the at-bat were properly officiated, the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Brewers were leading, 3-1. The Pirates ultimately won the contest, 5-4, in 10 innings.

These are Jerry Meals (41)'s 1st and 2nd ejections of 2022.

Jerry Meals now has 6 points in the UEFL Standings (-2 Prev + 2*[2 MLB + 2 Correct Call] = 6).

Crew Chief Jerry Meals now has 4 points in Crew Division (2 Previous + 2 Correct Call = 4).

*This pitch was located 0.50 vertical inches from being deemed incorrect.

These are the 115th and 116th ejection reports of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is the 38th player ejection of 2022. Prior to ejection, Yelich was 0-4 (3 SO) in the contest.

This is the 62nd manager ejection of 2022.

This is Milwaukee's 3/4th ejection of 2022, T-2nd in the NL Central (CHC 8; MIL, STL 4; PIT 3; CIN 2).

This is Christian Yelich's 2nd ejection of 2022, 1st since July 9 (Roberto Ortiz; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Craig Counsell's 2nd ejection of 2022, 1st since June 10 (Ramon De Jesus; QOC = Y [INT NC]).

These are Jerry Meals' 1st ejections since June 19, 2021 (Alek Manoah; QOC = U [Throwing At]).

Wrap: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 8/4/22 | Video as follows:

MLB's Wagner Says Umpire Schools to be Replaced by Invite-Only Placement Program

When MLB Senior Manager of Umpiring Operations Raquel Wagner reportedly announced at NASO Summit (a convention for sports officials) that the decades-old umpire school-to-Minor League Baseball pipeline will be replaced by an in-house training placement program operated by MLB itself, it came as a surprise to Hunter Wendelstedt, owner/operator of the Wendelstedt Umpire School in Ormond Beach, Florida: "I am shocked and surprised about the tweet and the news from the NASO Conference in Denver.  We are still anticipating working with Major League Baseball (MLB) to provide them with future MLB umpires since that has been the practice since 1938."

A person who wishes to become a big league umpire presently begins by enrolling in Umpire School—either the Wendelstedt Umpire School or the MiLB Umpire Training Academy—for an educational program mostly in January each offseason. The top graduates of each school then advance to an advanced course run by professional baseball, and if all goes well and the graduates continue to impress, they stand to be placed in Minor League Baseball as a full-fledged professional umpire (generally Rookie or Low A to start). Anyone who is interested and meets certain minimum qualifications (e.g., being 18 years old) can fill out a school application, pay tuition/fees (or secure a scholarship/financial aid), and attend either Wendelstedt or MiLB's Academy the following winter.

According to Wagner's statements, MLB seeks to discontinue the school-to-show system and replace it with an invitation-only course and placement program. Only one problem...

MiLB Dealt Evans a Job

...Whereas MLB owns the MiLB Umpire Training Academy, it does not own the Wendelstedt School and thus any such change would effectively kill the private entity which is presently competing with the MLB-owned Umpire Training Academy. We've already seen that MLB can effectively "kill" a competing umpire school by simply refusing to hire its graduates, as it did with the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring in 2012 after JEAPU staff engaged in racist conduct at a school-sponsored event. Seeing as MiLB hired Jim Evans as an advisor shortly thereafter, one could reasonably conclude that maybe a deal was struck.

If this sounds vaguely like a business engaging in a practice to shut down a competitor, you might possibly be right, although with Wendelstedt School still in the picture, cutting ties with Evans wouldn't result in a monopoly over the Umpire School line of business; getting rid of Wendelstedt School, however, would likely effectively eliminate all competition. Our analysis of this situation indicates this concept could very well be behind the timing of Wagner's announcement.

Since 1922, Major League Baseball has enjoyed a unique protection from adherence to USA anti-trust laws, also known as an antitrust exemption. When the Supreme Court bestowed this exemption upon professional baseball in 1922 (deeming that baseball is not interstate commerce), it reasoned that sports were different than most corporate business since it occurs in one place at a time and thus needed to operate in a way that may not fully comply with all the terms of the various federal anti-trust acts.

Over the years, MLB has cited and relied upon its anti-trust exemption to defend itself from litigation, or to engage in other business practices that may or may not be compliant with anti-trust laws.

With the United States Senate Judiciary Committee recently requesting information from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred about MLB's anti-trust exemption, perhaps baseball is worried that a bipartisan effort might just strip the league of its exemption, and if that happens, MLB will suddenly have to play by a bunch of rules that they are not used to abiding by.

And, furthermore and most pertinent, perhaps the league hopes that by making this change from an umpire school system (in which MiLB competes with Wendelstedt) to a 100% league-controlled program, it can do so in time, and under the guard of its anti-trust exemption, lest Baseball wind up losing the exemption in the future.

Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 114 - John Tumpane (4; Bud Black)

3B Umpire John Tumpane ejected Rockies manager Bud Black (Replay Review decision that overturned HP Umpire Marvin Hudson's out call/home plate collision no-call to safe/violation; QOCN) in the bottom of the 5th inning of the #Rockies-#Padres game. With two out and two on (R1, R2), Padres batter Ha-Seong Kim hit a 0-0 sinker from Rockies pitcher Jake Bird on a ground ball to left fielder Connor Joe, who threw to catcher Brian Serven as Padres baserunner R2 Wil Myers arrived at home plate, ruled out by HP Umpire Hudson. Upon Replay Review as the result of a challenge by Padres manager Bob Melvin, Hudson's call was overturned to safe with the Replay Official ruling that Serven violated baseball's home plate collision rule by improperly blocking the runner's access to home plate. Replays indicate catcher Serven appeared to initially position himself to the front and side of home plate, giving runner Myers a path, before shuffling to his left in response to the trajectory of LF Joe's throw, which is legal, the call was incorrect.* At the time of the ejection, the Padres were leading, 4-3. The Padres ultimately won the contest, 13-5.

This is John Tumpane (74)'s 4th ejection of 2022.

John Tumpane now has 4 points in the UEFL Standings (4 Prev + 2 MLB - 2 Incorrect-Crewmate = 4).

Crew Chief Marvin Hudson now has 3 points in Crew Division (3 Previous + 0 Incorrect Call = 3).

*Official Baseball Rule 6.01(i)(2): "Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as they are attempting to score...Not withstanding the above, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule 6.01(i)(2) if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in a legitimate attempt to field the throw (e.g., in reaction to the direction, trajectory or the hop of the incoming throw, or in reaction to a throw that originates from a pitcher or drawn-in infielder)."

This is the 114th ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is the 61st manager ejection of 2022.

This is Colorado's 2nd ejection of 2022, T-3rd in the NL West (SD 4; ARI 3; COL, SF 2; LAD 1).

This is Bud Black's 2nd ejection of 2022, 1st since July 14 (Malachi Moore; QOC = N [Out/Safe]).

This is John Tumpane's 4th ejection of 2022, 1st since July 16 (Ian Happ; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Colorado Rockies vs. San Diego Padres, 8/2/22 | Video as follows:

Call of the Month - July 2022

1B Umpire Pat Hoberg's safe call on Rays batter Roman Quinn's infield single in Kansas City, confirmed via Replay Review, is our Call of the Month for July 2022.

For Hoberg, Quinn's pushed bunt up the first base line leads to several potential scenarios, as Royals first baseman Nick Pratto dove to his right to field the batted ball, with pitcher Brady Singer and second baseman Whit Merrifield converging upon first base as Quinn ran toward the bag.

When Pratto tossed the ball to Merrifield, 1B Umpire Hoberg had to officiate what tmac describes as a "no sounder" play at first base—that is, one in which the umpire cannot listen for a sound of a thrown ball hitting the fielder's glove or mitt, because Merrifield didn't receive a hard throw, but a soft lob. Furthermore, the question of whether or not Merrifield was able to place his foot on first base before the batter-runner Quinn's arrival adds to the seemingly simple play's complexity.

Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 113 - Jerry Layne (2; Bob Melvin)

1B Umpire Jerry Layne ejected Padres manager Bob Melvin (Replay Review decision that overturned Layne's out [catch] call to safe [foul ball]) in the top of the 5th inning of the #Twins-#Padres game. With two out and two on, Twins batter Byron Buxton hit a 0-0 sinker from Padres pitcher Sean Manaea in the air along the right field fence-line in foul territory, where it was gloved by Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer, ruled a catch and air out by 1B Umpire Layne. Upon Replay Review as the result of a challenge by Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, the call was overturned to a foul ball, with the Replay Official ruling that the batted ball made contact with the protective netting prior to settling into Hosmer's glove. Replays indicate the ball appeared to change direction during its descent, indicative of contact with the net, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 1-1. The Padres ultimately won the contest, 3-2.

This is Jerry Layne (24)'s 2nd ejection of 2022.

Jerry Layne now has 9 points in the UEFL Standings (5 Previous + 2 MLB + 2 Correct Call = 9).

Crew Chief Jerry Layne now has 5 points in Crew Division (4 Previous + 1 Correct Call = 5).

This is the 113th ejection report of the 2022 MLB regular season.

This is the 60th manager ejection of 2022.

This is San Diego's 4th ejection of 2022, 1st in the NL West (SD 4; ARI 3; SF 2; COL, LAD 1).

This is Bob Melvin's 3rd ejection of 2022, 1st since May 31 (Chris Segal; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Jerry Layne's 2nd ejection of 2022, 1st since July 14 (Dillon Lawson; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Minnesota Twins vs. San Diego Padres, 7/31/22 | Video as follows: