MLB Ejection 224 - Bill Miller (5; Brian Snitker)

1B Umpire Bill Miller ejected Braves manager Brian Snitker (ejection/throwing at no-call) in the top of the 4th inning of the #Pirates-#Braves game. With two out and two on, Braves batter Austin Riley took a 0-1 fastball from Pirates pitcher Johan Oviedo for a hit-by-pitch. Replays indicate the pitch was located inside and hit Riley on the upper arm, the call was irrecusable. At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 3-3. The Pirates ultimately won the contest, 8-4.

This is Bill Miller (26)'s 5th ejection of 2023.

This is the 224th ejection report of the 2023 MLB regular season.

This is the 102nd manager ejection of 2023. Ejection Tally: 102 Managers, 90 Players, 32 Coaches.

This is Atlanta's 3rd ejection of 2023, T-4th in the NL East (MIA 14; PHI 9; NYM 6; ATL, WAS 3).

This is Brian Snitker's 2nd ejection of 2023, 1st since April 14 (Manny Gonzalez; QOC = Y [Replay]).

This is Bill Miller's 5th ejection of 2023, 1st since August 9 (Skip Schumaker; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Atlanta Braves, 9/9/23 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 222-3 - Brennan Miller (7-8; CIN x2)

HP Umpire Brennan Miller ejected Reds manager David Bell (strike one to Tyler Stephenson; QOCN) and Reds 2B Alejo Lopez (strikes one and three calls; QOCN) in the bottom of the 4th inning of the #Cardinals-#Reds game. With none out and none on, Stephenson took a 2-0 fastball from Cardinals pitcher Zack Thompson for a called first strike before flying out. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the heart of home plate and above the midpoint (px 0.04, pz 3.60 [sz_bot 3.25 / RAD 3.37 / MOE 3.45]), the call was incorrect.^ Ensuing batter Lopez took a 1-0 cutter and 1-2 curveball from Thompson for called first and third strikes. Replays indicate the pitch ruled strike one was located over the outer half of home plate and above the midpoint (px 0.26, pz 3.26 [sz_top 2.92 / RAD 3.04 / MOE 3.12]) and the pitch ruled strike three was located over the outer half of home plate and above the midpoint (px 0.34, pz 3.33 [sz_top 2.92 / RAD 3.04 / MOE 3.12]), the call was incorrect.* At the time of the ejections, the Cardinals were leading, 4-3. The Cardinals ultimately won the contest, 4-3.

These are Brennan Miller (55)'s 7th and 8th ejections of 2023.

^Strike 1 to Stephenson was located 1.80 vertical inches from being deemed correct.

*Strike 2 was located 1.68 and Strike 3 was located 2.52 vertical inches from being deemed correct.

These are the 222nd and 223rd ejection reports of the 2023 MLB regular season.

This is the 90th player ejection of 2023. This is the 101st manager ejection of 2023.

Ejection Tally: 101 Managers, 90 Players, 32 Coaches.

This is Cincinnati's 8/9th ejection of 2023, 3rd in the NL Central (STL 14; PIT 10; CIN 9; CHC, MIL 8).

This is Alejo Lopez's first career MLB ejection.

This is David Bell's 7th ejection of 2023, 1st since Aug 3 (Derek Thomas; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Brennan Miller's 7/8th ejection of 2023, 1st since Aug 22 (Jordan Walker; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: St Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds, 9/9/23 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 221 - Jeff Nelson (3; Brian Sweeney)

1B Umpire Jeff Nelson ejected Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney (check swing ball four to George Springer) in the bottom of the 7th inning of the #Royals-#BlueJays game. With two out and one on, Springer attempted to check his swing on a 3-2 fastball from Royals pitcher Carlos Hernandez, ruled a ball by HP Umpire Ben May and affirmed as no swing on appeal by 1B Umpire Nelson. At the time of the ejection, the Royals were leading, 2-1. The Blue Jays ultimately won the contest, 5-4.

This is Jeff Nelson (45)'s 3rd ejection of 2023.

This is the 221st ejection report of the 2023 MLB regular season.

This is the 32nd coach ejection of 2023. Ejection Tally: 100 Managers, 89 Players, 32 Coaches.

This is Kansas City's 7th ejection of 2023, 3rd in the AL Central (CWS, MIN 12; KC 7; CLE 6; DET 4).

This is Brian Sweeney's first career MLB ejection.

This is Jeff Nelson's 3rd ejection of 2023, 1st since July 5 (Jean Segura; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Kansas City Royals vs Toronto Blue Jays, 9/8/23 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 220 - Laz Diaz (3; Turner Ward)

HP Umpire Laz Diaz ejected Cardinals hitting coach Turner Ward (strike one call to Jordan Walker; QOCY) in the top of the 6th inning of the #Cardinals-#Braves game. With none out and none on, Walker took a 2-0 fastball from Braves pitcher Max Fried for a called first strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the inner edge of home plate and thigh-high (px -0.89, pz 2.65), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Braves were leading, 4-3. The Braves ultimately won the contest, 8-5.

This is Laz Diaz (63)'s 3rd ejection of 2023.

*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.

This pitch was located 0.29 horizontal inches from being deemed incorrect.

This is the 220th ejection report of the 2023 MLB regular season.

This is the 31st coach ejection of 2023. Ejection Tally: 100 Managers, 89 Players, 31 Coaches.

This is St Louis' 14th ejection of 2023, 1st in the NL Central (STL 14; PIT 10; CHC, MIL 8; CIN 7).

This is Turner Ward's 1st ejection since Sept 1, 2019 (Bill Miller; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Laz Diaz's 3rd ejection of 2023, 1st since Aug 25 (AJ Hinch; QOC = U [Pitch Clock]).

Wrap: St Louis Cardinals vs Atlanta Barves, 9/7/23 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 219 - Alan Porter (2; Anthony Rizzo)

HP Umpire Alan Porter ejected Yankees non-roster player Anthony Rizzo (strike three call to Jasson Dominguez; QOCY) in the top of the 4th inning of the #Tigers-#Yankees game. With two out and one on in the bottom of the 3rd, Yankees batter Dominguez took a 3-2 changeup from Tigers pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the inner half of home plate and at the hollow of the knee (px -0.54, pz 1.34 [sz_bot 1.49 / RAD 1.37 / MOE 1.29]), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Tigers were leading, 4-1. The Tigers ultimately won the contest, 10-3.

This is Alan Porter (64)'s 2nd ejection of 2023.

*This pitch was located 0.60 vertical inches from being deemed correct.

This is the 219th ejection report of the 2023 MLB regular season.

This is the 89th player ejection of 2023. Ejection Tally: 100 Managers, 89 Players, 30 Coaches.

This is New York's 10th ejection of 2023, 1st in the AL East (NYY 10; BOS 7; BAL, TOR 6; TB 5).

This is Anthony Rizzo's 1st ejection since May 19, 2022 (Manny Gonzalez; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Alan Porter's 2nd ejection of 2023, 1st since July 1 (Brant Brown; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Detroit Tigers vs New York Yankees, 9/7/23 | Video as follows:

The Great 2023 Ejection Drought - Why The Sudden Stop?

Baseball's pace of ejections, a record high for the majority of MLB's 2023 season, has suddenly fallen off a cliff with only one ejection over the past week and a half.

What happened? Have players, coaches and managers across the league simultaneously found peace and tranquility? Have umpires stopped making close calls entirely? Or has there been some sort of league intervention?

2023's ejections count of 217 through the end of August predicted a historic season for heave-ho's in the unified MLB era. A pace set to approach 250 ejections would have placed the 2023 regular season in second place since the AL and NL merger at the turn of the 21st century.

Only 2003 would have had more ejections, with 289 dismissals (next is 2001's count of 243).

Yet at the end of August, ejections stopped, nearly entirely. This harkens back to memories of the 2016 season, which saw a similar ejections decrease over that season's second half after Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo reportedly confronted umpire Jim Joyce after a July 7, 2016 game against New York.

Related Post: Report - Nats GM Rizzo Confronts Jim Joyce After Game (7/8/16).

Rizzo was the same Washington GM removed by Joe West in 2020 during a game for misconduct in Atlanta.

Related Post: Non-Ejection - Joe West Removes WAS GM Mike Rizzo (9/6/20).

MLB's on-field disciplinarian Joe Torre issued a memo to teams after the Rizzo-Joyce incident, warning personnel to stop harassing the umpires. It worked, spurring an average decrease of 50% since the memo's distribution.

Related Post: Ejection Drought - Expulsions Drop After Torre Memo (7/30/16).

We may, or may not, be looking at another sportsmanship-related memorandum in 2023, but if the league did indeed send one out, early returns are proving it very successful.

Video as follows:

Perdomo Safe From a Base Path Call Out in Arizona

As Orioles SS Gunnar Henderson fielded a 5th inning infield ground ball of the bat of Arizona's Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks baserunner R1 Geraldo Perdomo veered onto the grass to try and avoid Henderson's eventual tag, ruled safe by 2B Umpire Tom Hanahan and upheld via Replay Review after an Orioles challenge by manager Brandon Hyde.

Perdomo later scored on Cedric Mullins' RBI single off of Baltimore pitcher Jack Flaherty.

With the knowledge that the only reviewable aspect of this play pertained to the physical tag attempt, we answer your questions regarding the other, unreviewable part—Hanahan's out of the base path no call (safe) on Perdomo as the runner attempted to evade the fielder.

Official Baseball Rule 5.09(b)(1) describes the condition upon which a runner is out for a base path violation: "Official Baseball Rule 5.09(b)(1): "Any runner is out when they run more than three feet away from their base path to avoid being tagged unless their action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner’s base path is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base they are attempting to reach safely."

As we have discussed in prior videos, a runner establishes their own base path, which is separate and distinct from a baseline (defined as a direct line between consecutive bases). Furthermore, a runner's base path is not established until the tag attempt occurs (begins) and the runner is restricted by the three-foot provision in OBR 5.09(b)(1) until the runner arrives at the next (or previous) base, the fielder loses possession of the ball (e.g., by throwing it or dropping it), or the fielder stops the tag attempt (e.g., to play on another runner).

Replays indicate baserunner R1 Perdomo, coincidentally, appeared to be positioned within the baseline as F6 Henderson fielded the baseball and ran more than three feet away to avoid the fielder's tag, which satisfies the criteria for an out of the base path call.

Video as follows:

Xander Bogaerts Commits Shift Violation After Giants Challenge

Giants batter Patrick Bailey's 9th inning groundout in San Diego was nullified when Replay Review overturned umpires to call a defensive shift violation on Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts, ruling the infielder failed to begin play within the dirt boundary. San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler successfully challenged the play, resulting in a penalty ball added to the count, but if you watched the Padres broadcast, you likely were left with quite a few questions about this call.

In addition to bigger bases and a pitch clock, MLB instituted defensive shift limits for 2023, making it illegal for less than two infielders to occupy each side of the infield, as well as prohibiting infielders from starting play on the outfield grass.

Kapler thus challenged that Bogaerts began with his heels on the outfield grass, which is a violation of the shift rule (by about two inches, but a violation nonetheless).

The confusion came from San Diego TV starting its replays too late, after Padres pitcher Josh Hader had already engaged the rubber and began his motion to come home.

Although MLB's website lists the requirement as, "The four infielders must be within the boundary of the infield when the pitcher is on the rubber," instructional videos from the league itself along with in-game graphics from San Francisco's broadcast use the phrase "when pitcher begins delivery."

Regardless of which standard one uses, however, replays conclusively indicate Bogaerts' heels were on the outfield grass and outside the boundary of the infield when the pitcher began delivery or motion to the plate, which is an infield shift violation.

Video as follows: