Saturday’s game between the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds apparently featured one of the more ridiculous ejections in recent memory.
During the fourth inning of the contest, Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde was ejected by plate umpire Greg Gibson. Catcher Willson Contreras revealed after the game that the ejection was because he (Contreras) did not thank Gibson for granting him a timeout during an at-bat. An irritated Gibson seemed to chastise the catcher for his perceived lack of manners, and Hyde, meanwhile, sprung to Contreras’ defense by chirping back at the umpire from the dugout.
“It was really a difficult situation and I tried to handle it as best I could,” said Contreras, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. “The umpire said something to me that I didn’t really like, and it got to the point where I looked over to the bench to get a little backup just because I didn’t want to get thrown out and cost the team. It all happened because I had asked for time out, and apparently I didn’t thank him.
“I never argued a single ball or strike,” Contreras added. “I kept my mouth shut. I wasn’t arguing about anything else. That’s what it was. … He said something to me that I didn’t think he needed to say. I’m here because I’ve earned my spot here, and I just didn’t appreciate what he said.”
The Cubs would go on to lose the game 11-2. On the bright side though, at least the ejection wasn’t as costly as the last one Contreras was involved in.
