Javy Baez and AJ Hinch were both ejected from their Detroit Tigers’ 2-0 loss to the Oakland A’s on Monday night.
Baez was batting with a runner on first and nobody out in the bottom of the ninth. Dany Jimenez threw a 2-2 breaking ball that was up and hit the outside corner. Umpire Nick Mahrley called the pitch a strike, and Baez disagreed and let the umpire know.
Tigers manager Hinch came out and tried to step in between them but they both got ejected.
This wasn’t even a bad call pic.twitter.com/xyAJNqE0hd
— Larry Brown Sports (@larrybrownsport) May 10, 2022
The crazy thing is that wasn’t even a bad call by Mahrley! The pitch was right on the border of being a strike.
Here is a look at the pitch breakdown:
Javier Báez and A.J. Hinch have been ejected by plate umpire Nick Mahrley after called third strike on outside corner (pitch 7) for first out of 9th. pic.twitter.com/XCndAUUkYh
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) May 10, 2022
Hinch spoke about the ejection after the game. He was upset that Mahrley threw out Baez.
“When I got out there I took over the argument. … Nick (Mahrley) was looking right at me and then threw (Báez) out. So that bothered me just as much as the missed calls. When I’m out there, he can deal with me. He didn’t have to go after Javy,” Hinch said, via The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen.
Hinch defended Baez and said the infielder didn’t use any objectionable language.
“Javy said nothing that he wouldn’t say in front of your mother. He was just saying he thought it was a ball, he thought he had a tough night. I didn’t think he needed to be thrown out at that point with me standing in between them.”
Maybe this whole incident could have been avoided had Baez just swung the bat on a close pitch.
