Joey Votto was ejected during the eighth inning of Wednesday’s Pirates-Reds game in Cincinnati for arguing a strike call, and boy did he ever lose his mind.
Votto, who was 1-for-3 in the game with two strikeouts, was already ticked about a 1-1 call in the fourth inning. A pitch he thought was a ball was called a strike, giving him a 1-2 count. He ended up punching out in the at-bat.
Then in the eighth, a 1-1 pitch again was called a strike despite being outside the zone, making it 1-2. Votto contested the call to home plate umpire Bill Welke, and things eventually developed into a full-on meltdown after Votto was ejected.
Votto absolutely lost it on Welke. He slammed his helmet and bat and tried to get in the umpire’s face. He was quickly tossed from the game and had to be separated from Welke by some of Cincinnati’s coaches.
Interestingly enough, Ramon Cabrera entered the game in Votto’s place to finish the at-bat and actually singled! This act by Votto rivals Torii Hunter for biggest meltdown of the season.
