KANSAS CITY -- The visiting clubhouse manager¡¯s office at Kauffman Stadium features poster-sized replicas of baseball cards spotlighting some of the most famous managers in baseball history -- names like Earl Weaver, Tony La Russa and Tommy Lasorda. On Monday night, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli seemed to channel his feisty forebears.
Baldelli was ejected in the sixth inning of Monday night¡¯s 4-2 loss to the Royals after vehemently arguing a pitch timer violation against pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson.
¡°I didn't really wait long enough to get an explanation,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°I was a strong ¡®No¡¯ on the call as it stood. They were given a free base where it's just not the right call.¡±
With the Twins trailing 4-1 and a full count to Kansas City leadoff man Jonathan India, Woods Richardson stepped off at about the 6-second mark and signaled that he was having an issue with his PitchCom system. He was not granted a timeout, so he resumed his delivery and started his windup with two seconds remaining on the clock.
Home plate umpire Nic Lentz called a pitch timer violation on Woods Richardson, which made it ball four to India, who took his base.
¡°I supposedly didn¡¯t give India time to get back in the box,¡± Woods Richardson said. ¡°I stepped off at six [seconds]. I couldn¡¯t hear the pitch call, so I stepped up. [Catcher Christian V¨¢zquez was] spamming it, it got back in the signal. I got it with seconds left, got back on. India wasn¡¯t ready, so a pitch clock violation.¡±
A statement on the play from Major League Baseball read as follows:
¡°The home plate umpire deemed the sequence an attempted circumvention of the Pitch Timer regulations by the pitcher. Disengaging while gesturing about a potential PitchCom issue, and then re-engaging late in an attempt to deliver a pitch prior to the expiration of the Pitch Timer, did not allow the hitter the ability to remain alert and ready.¡±
Baldelli contended that because Woods Richardson was not granted a timeout, his only choice was to resume his delivery.
¡°He stepped off, pointed to his ear,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°Didn't get any response from Nic. He got back on the mound and tried to make a pitch. What else is he going to do? He was forced to do that with two seconds left. He's trying to make a pitch on the mound and he gets a pitch clock violation called on him and the clock hadn't even expired.¡±
Baldelli came out to argue and after a lengthy back and forth, he was tossed. He got his money¡¯s worth, kicking home plate a la Weaver as he walked off.
¡°The umpire could have remedied the situation in a number of ways,¡± Baldelli said, ¡°but instead made Sim get back on the mound and pitch and then banged him for a violation, which hadn't even occurred yet. It didn't make sense. That can happen. It's understandable those things can happen, but you still have the ability to remedy the situation even if you make the initial call that might not be the right call. If you're an umpire I still think you can take a step back and take a second and make the right call. He had the ability to do that and he didn't do it. So I had to go out there.¡±
It was the 15th ejection of Baldelli¡¯s managerial career.