MLB Ejection 028 - Jansen Visconti (1; Joe Espada)

HP Umpire Jansen Visconti ejected Astros manager Joe Espada (general strike zone complaint) during the break before the top of the 9th inning of the #Astros-#Cubs game. Chicago had just concluded its turn at-bat in the bottom of the 8th, and there were no contested calls during that inning, the reason for ejection was irrecusable. At the time of the ejection, the Cubs were leading, 3-1. The Cubs ultimately won the contest, 3-1.

This is Jansen Visconti (52)'s 1st ejection of 2024.

This is the 28th ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 13th manager ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 13 Managers, 4 Coaches, 11 Players.

This is Houston's 1st ejection of 2024, T-2nd in the AL West (OAK 2; HOU, LAA, SEA, TEX 1).

This is Joe Espada's first career MLB ejection.

This is Jansen Visconti's 1st ejection since Sept 19, 2023 (Mark Kotsay; QOC = U [Check Swing]).

Wrap: Houston Astros vs Chicago Cubs, 4/25/24 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 027 - John Tumpane (2; Alex Wood)

3B Umpire John Tumpane ejected Athletics bench player Alex Wood (no stop balk call on pitcher Joe Boyle; QOCY) in the bottom of the 1st inning of the #Athletics-#Yankees game. With one out and one on, Tumpane called A's pitcher Joe Boyle for a balk during his 1-2 delivery to Yankees batter Aaron Judge. Replays indicate Boyle did not entirely stop prior to delivering to Judge, the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 0-0. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 7-3.

This is John Tumpane (74)'s 2nd ejection of 2024.

*Official Baseball Rule 6.02(a) states it is a balk when the pitcher "delivers from Set Position without coming to a stop."

This is the 27th ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 11th player ejection of 2024. Prior to ejection, Wood did not participate in the game.

Ejection Tally: 12 Managers, 4 Coaches, 11 Players.

This is Oakland's 2nd ejection of 2024, 1st in the AL West (OAK 2; LAA, SEA, TEX 1; HOU 0).

This is Alex Wood's 1st ejection since May 5, 2021 (Tony Randazzo; QOC = Y [Check Swing]).

This is John Tumpane's 2nd ejection of 2024, 1st since April 23 (Lawrence Butler; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Oakland Athletics vs New York Yankees, 4/24/24 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 026 - John Tumpane (1; Lawrence Butler)

HP Umpire John Tumpane ejected Athletics RF Lawrence Butler (strike three call; QOCY) in the top of the 9th inning of the #Athletics-#Yankees game. With none out and none on, A's batter Butler took a 1-2 sinker from Yankees pitcher Clay Holmes for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the inner half of home plate and below the midpoint (px 0.15, pz 3.57 [sz_top 3.41 / RAD 3.54 / MOE 3.62]), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Yankees were leading, 4-3. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 4-3.

This is John Tumpane (74)'s 1st ejection of 2024.

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

This is the 26th ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 10th player ejection of 2024. Prior to ejection, Butler was 1-4 (2 SO) in the contest.

Ejection Tally: 12 Managers, 4 Coaches, 10 Players.

This is Oakland's 1st ejection of 2024, T-1st in the AL West (LAA, OAK, SEA, TEX 1; HOU 0).

This is Lawrence Butler's 1st career MLB ejection.

This is John Tumpane's 1st ejection since July 17, 2023 (Matt Thaiss; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Oakland Athletics vs New York Yankees, 4/23/24 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 024-5 - Mike Estabrook (1-2; CWS x2)

HP Umpire Mike Estabrook ejected White Sox RF Gavin Sheets and manager Pedro Grifol (strike three call to Sheets; QOCY) in the bottom of the 8th inning of the #WhiteSox-#Twins game. With two out and one on, White Sox batter Sheets took a 3-2 changeup from Twins pitcher Ronny Henriquez for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the outer edge of home plate and knee-high (px -0.77, pz 1.55 [sz_bot 1.74 / RAD 1.62 / MOE 1.54]), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejections, the Twins were leading, 7-0. The Twins ultimately won the contest, 7-0.

These are Mike Estabrook (83)'s 1st and 2nd ejections of 2024.

*This pitch was located 0.12 vertical inches from being deemed incorrect.

These are the 24th and 25th ejection reports of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 9th player ejection of 2024. Prior to ejection, Sheets was 1-4 (2 SO) in the contest.

This is the 12th manager ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 12 Managers, 4 Coaches, 9 Players.

This is Chicago's 2/3rd ejection of 2024, 1st in the AL Central (CWS 3; MIN 1; CLE, DET, KC 0).

This is Gavin Sheets' 1st ejection since May 18, 2023 (Dan Iassogna; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Pedro Grifol's 1st ejection since August 5, 2023 (Mark Wegner; QOC = U [Fighting]).

This is Mike Estabrook's 1st ejection since June 23, 2023 (Bryce Harper; QOC = Y [Check Swing]).

Wrap: Chicago White Sox vs Minnesota Twins, 4/22/24 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 023 - Hunter Wendelstedt (1; Aaron Boone)

HP Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt ejected Yankees manager Aaron Boone (check swing HBP call by 1B Umpire John Tumpane; ejected because Hunter mistook a fan's voice for Boone's; QOCN) in the top of the 1st inning of the #Athletics-#Yankees game. With none out and none on, A's batter Esteury Ruiz attempted to check his swing on a 1-2 slider from Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón, ruled a hit-by-pitch by HP Umpire Wendelstedt and affirmed on appeal as no swing by 1B Umpire Tumpane. After ensuing batter Tyler Nevin took a first-pitch strike, HP Umpire Wendelstedt warned Boone, ejecting him shortly thereafter. Replays indicate that after being warned Boone did not say or gesture toward the umpire; instead, a fan above New York's dugout yelled at Wendelstedt and the umpire ejected Boone for the actions of this fan, the call was incorrect. At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 0-0. The A's ultimately won the contest, 2-0.

This is Hunter Wendelstedt (21)'s 1st ejection of 2024.

This is the 23rd ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 11th manager ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 11 Managers, 4 Coaches, 8 Players.

This is New York's 2nd ejection of 2024, T-1st in the AL East (NYY, TOR 2; BOS 1; BAL, TB 0).

This is Aaron Boone's 2nd ejection of 2024, 1st since April 10 (John Bacon; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Hunter Wendelstedt's 1st ejection since July 25, 2023 (Derek Shelton; QOC = U [Throwing At]).

Wrap: Oakland Athletics vs New York Yankees, 4/22/24 | Video as follows:

Obstruction Enforcement Has Dropped - What's Going On?

After MLB made base blocking obstruction a point of emphasis prior to the 2024 season, we saw several instances of enforcement during Spring Training. But as the season progresses, obstruction calls have decreased, leaving some otherwise-obstruction calls going unanswered.

This video features a Yankees-Guardian obstruction play at first base wherein the first baseman appears to block the runner's path with a leg while fielding to the opposite side of the base.

To be clear, Official Baseball Rule 6.01(h)(1) has not changed and obstruction is still "the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner."

Instead, the point-of-emphasis instructs umpires to call obstruction when fielders illegally block runners at the base (mainly on pickoffs and steals). When a fielder has the ball, they are protected and can block a runner, but the POE concerns the "in the act of fielding" exception to obstruction liability, with a specific focus on fielders who use this exception as a loophole to block a runner's access when their act of fielding has nothing to do with needing to occupy space in the runner's path to catch the ball.

Seeking to close this loophole, MLB has now clarified that it is still obstruction when a fielder who is in the act of fielding blocks a runner's path to the base by placing a leg or foot in their way, when the fielder did not need to occupy that space (and did not need to block the runner) in order to field the ball.

Ejection 017 (Cory Blaser tosses Dave Martinez) was all about an obstruction no-call on a stolen base attempt by 2B Umpire Nate Tomlinson, who initially ruled Washington baserunner Ildemaro Vargas out at second base, a call affirmed by Replay Review after Martinez's challenge.

Because obstruction is not a reviewable play (go figure, home plate collision/plate blocking and sliding into a base to break up a double play are reviewable, but 'ordinary' obstruction and interference are not), Replay couldn't look at the obstruction aspect of the play, which left its sole task as determining whether or not the runner was tagged off-base with the ball, which he was, so he was called out.

Hence, Replay Review due to its reviewable vs not reviewable dichotomy highlights even more how an on-field obstruction call is vital, and also, how these on-field calls are dropping like fly balls to Fred Snodgrass.

Video as follows:

MLB Ejections 21-2 - Stu Scheurwater (1-2; SF x2)

HP Umpire Stu Scheurwater ejected Giants manager Bob Melvin and 3B coach Matt Williams (foul ball call; QOCN) in the top of the 9th inning of the #Diamondbacks-#Giants game. With none out and two on, Diamondbacks batter Kevin Newman attempted to strike a 1-2 knuckle curve from Giants pitcher Nick Avila, ruled a foul ball by Scheurwater. Replays indicate the pitched ball did not appear to make contact with Newman's bat prior to touching the dirt, the call was incorrect. At the time of the ejections, the Diamondbacks were leading, 4-2. The Diamondbacks ultimately won the contest, 5-3.

These are Stu Scheurwater (85)'s 1st and 2nd ejections of 2024.

These are the 21st and 22nd ejection reports of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 10th manager ejection of 2024.

This is the 4th coach ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 10 Managers, 4 Coaches, 8 Players.

This is San Francisco's 2/3rd ejection of 2024, 1st in the NL West (SF 3; SD 2; ARI, COL, LAD 0).

This is Bob Melvin's 2nd ejection of 2024, 1st since April 12 (Clint Vondrak; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Matt Williams' 1st ejection since May 20, 2015 (Marvin Hudson; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

This is Stu Scheurwater's 1st ejection since June 1, 2023 (Phil Nevin; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Arizona Diamondbacks vs San Francisco Giants, 4/21/24 | Video as follows:

The Myth of the Out for Turning the Wrong Way

When Phillies 1B Bryce Harper tagged out Cardinals batter-runner Victor Scott in St Louis, the home broadcast speculated 1B Umpire Adam Hamari called Scott out for a "turn the wrong way" violation after hitting an infield single and sprinting past first base.

Let's review the rule and clear up the myth that simply turning into fair territory puts a runner in jeopardy of being tagged out after overrunning first base.

Official Baseball Rule 5.09(b)(11) makes no mention of which way to turn, but instead states, "Any runner is out when they fail to return at once to first base after overrunning or oversliding that base. If they attempt to run to second they are out when tagged..."

The phrase "if they attempt to run to second" is interpreted as a physical indication from the batter-runner that they are attempting to advance beyond first base. For most plays of this nature—and true for the Scott play here as well—this manifests by a sudden shuffle of the feet as the player turns his body and moves toward the next base.

This is deemed an attempt to advance and, thus, puts the batter-runner in jeopardy of being tagged out while off the base due to overrun protection ending at the moment said player attempts to advance.

In sum, although "turning the wrong way" can provide a clue that a batter-runner has lost overrun/overslide protection, simply turning toward fair territory/the left is not ample evidence alone to suggest such a player has fulfilled the "attempt to run to second" portion of the rule.

By a similar token, turning toward foul territory may not be entirely foolproof either, as many a batter-runner has turned to the right before then changing course and attempting to advance—however briefly.

Wrap: Texas Rangers vs Detroit Tigers, 4/18/24 | Video as follows: