Saturday night brought one of the strangest ejections to date this MLB season in a game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Atlanta Braves.
Angels manager Phil Nevin quickly became agitated with the umpires after a controversial check-swing call on Braves third baseman Austin Riley was deemed to not be a swing in the bottom of the fourth inning. This call came back to cost the Angels, as Riley then went on to hit a two-run home run in the same at-bat after what would have been strike three was not called.
This is the check swing the #Angels thought was strike 3 on Austin Riley.
He hit a 2-run HR on the next pitch.
The Angels are down 7-1 in the 5th. pic.twitter.com/wC8PbzGwOC
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) July 24, 2022
AUSTIN 3:16 SAYS THAT BALL WAS CRUSHED@austinriley1308 | #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/RP2EtSW0UB
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 24, 2022
In the top of the 5th inning, Angels star Shohei Ohtani hit a line-drive home run off Braves pitcher Kyle Wright, but it was clear that Nevin’s frustration had boiled over into the next inning.
That got out quick!! 🚀 Ohtani hits #20@Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/MofWSGyyAv
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) July 24, 2022
As Ohtani was walking into the dugout after rounding the bases, Nevin was still arguing with the umpires, appearing to say that it should be a 5-2 deficit for the Angels instead of the 7-2 score. He then went out onto the field to argue the prior call on Riley, where he was subsequently ejected from the game.
Phil Nevin has been ejected. pic.twitter.com/KY5LabIod3
— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) July 24, 2022
The timing of this was extremely strange, as you would imagine that if Nevin was going to argue the call, it would be in the inning that the play occurred.
Many around the MLB world understand Nevin’s frustration but question his decision to argue long after Riley’s check-swing if that was his issue.
Does anyone know why Phil Nevin just got tossed?
— Eric Cain (@_Cainer) July 24, 2022
I'm not great at reading lips, but Phil Nevin doesn't appear to be a big fan of first base umpire John Bacon.
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) July 24, 2022
Phil Nevin was ejected for the third time this season. It looked like he wasn't happy with the Austin Riley check swing call from the prior inning.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) July 24, 2022
Shohei Ohtani has homered. Just went down and got one.That's his 20th. It got out in a hurry. He got around the bases in a hurry, too.
Also, don't think I've ever seen a manager get thrown out after his guy homers, but that's a thing Phil Nevin just did.
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) July 24, 2022
This series of events is a microcosm of how the Angels’ season has gone thus far, with Ohtani briefly showing off his excellence shortly followed by the incompetence that surrounds the Angels organization stealing the show.
They currently sit in fourth place in the AL West and are clearly outside of the playoff picture in the American League, and Nevin’s ejection just shows that things are only getting worse for the organization as the season rolls on.
[Bally Sports South, Bally Sports West]
