If you were sitting near the third base dugout at PNC Park on Sunday and had an attentive look on your face at the right time, it’s possible that someone with the Pittsburgh Pirates was looking at you, wondering if you might be a competent manager for a while.
Because thanks to an ejection spree by home plate umpire Nic Lentz, the Pirates were low on options.
The Pirates were frustrated with the job Lentz was doing. Bryan Reynolds struck out looking on a pitch that the Pittsburgh bench thought was high. Cincinnati catcher then Luke Maile had a 1-2 and later 3-2 pitch called as balls despite being in a similar location, at least according to the Pirates.
From my understanding (1/2)
1. The Pirates weren't happy with this called third strike to Reynolds.
2. They weren't happy when the 1-2 pitch to Maile was called a ball (relatively same spot).
3. They ***really*** weren't happy when the 3-2 pitch to Maile was called a ball. pic.twitter.com/k37lDbmy9j
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) August 14, 2023
Then, things got wild.
Because after Maile’s walk, Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton, pitching coach Oscar Marin and bench coach Don Kelly were all ejected. Pirates pitcher Ryan Borucki was yelling at the umpires, indicating that at least one of the coaching staff’s ejections should have gone to him, but to no avail. All three coaches got the thumb, leaving third base coach Mike Rabelo to manage the game.
The Pirates manager, bench coach, and pitching coach all got ejected in the same sequence pic.twitter.com/a7SHIeCxpU
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 14, 2023
Mayhem here in the top of the 6th inning: Pirates manager Derek Shelton, pitching coach Oscar Marin and bench coach Don Kelly all have been ejected by home plate umpire Nic Lentz. LHP Ryan Borucki was berating the umpires from dugout. Pirates 3B coach Mike Rabelo now in charge.
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) August 14, 2023
These ejections definitely got baseball fans buzzing.
suspend nic lentz. the fans paid to watch baseball. not the ump show
— North Obama (@ObamaFBR) August 14, 2023
The spike in poor MLB umpiring has increased in direct proportion to the speed that umpires are ejecting managers, coaches and players for telling them how poorly they're calling games. https://t.co/AjLRZO5W32
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) August 14, 2023
A great baseball ejection is an art form as beautiful and wonderful as anything produced during the Renaissance https://t.co/e0SgtDn5Pw
— Zack Hunt (@ZaackHunt) August 14, 2023
Pirates acting manager for the rest of this game: pic.twitter.com/R2Gf9vD20R
— Josh Rowntree (@JRown32) August 14, 2023
The Pirates were certainly wrong in their argument on the two pitches to Maile. Both were well out of the strike zone. That said, the one to Reynolds was, as well. So it’s easy to understand why they were frustrated. And inconsistency often frustrates teams more than bad calls.
[Justice delos Santos, Jomboy Media, Kevin Gorman]
