Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was ejected from Monday night's MLB game in Kansas City for arguing with the home plate umpire over a pitch clock violation.
It happened in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and nobody on as the Royals led 4-1. With a 3-2 count to Royals batter Jonathan India, Twins pitcher Simeon Woods-Richardson stepped off the rubber, pointed to his cap, then stepped back on the rubber to throw the pitch. As he wound up, home plate umpire Nic Lentz called time and a pitch clock violation on Woods-Richardson, resulting in ball four and a walk. As India jogged to first base, Baldelli came out of the dugout to argue with Lentz while also protecting catcher Christian Vazquez, who was getting a bit heated.
Baldelli tried to argue on behalf of Woods-Richardson, but the more that Lentz tried to present his side, the more heated Baldelli got. Eventually, Lentz had heard enough and tossed Baldelli, who continued to vent to Lentz until crew chief Vic Carapazza stepped in between to separate them.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli ejected after a pitch clock violation pic.twitter.com/EZW34URK2B
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Baldelli generally does not have a huge temper. In fact, he can be pretty calm, as he once allowed a butterfly to land on his nose during a game. Most temper tantrums by managers involve a much larger display of anger.
Woods-Richardson was removed from the game, and the Twins were unable to rally as they lost to the Royals 4-2.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
