Umpire Sam Holbrook. (Major League Baseball)
Major League Baseball umpire Sam Holbrook enraged some Baltimore fans with a pair of controversial ejections in Boston.
Among them: Holbrook ejected Adam Jones, just days after the centerfielder alleged he was subjected to racist slurs at Fenway. However, Holbrook is a veteran ump.
Holbrook has been an umpire with Major League Baseball for 15 years. According to Kentucky.com, “After graduating No. 1 in his class at Harry Wendelstedt’s umpiring school in 1990, Holbrook climbed the ladder, working in seven minor leagues.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Holbrook Controversially Ejected Orioles Pitcher Kevin Gausman
Kevin Gausman ejected after hitting Xander Bogaerts with a curveball in the 2nd.
Chris Sale was warned for a fastball behind Manny Machado.
The first ejection causing controversy on May 3 was of Baltimore Orioles’ pitcher, Kevin Gausman.
According to USA Today, “In the second inning at Fenway Park, Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman was ejected after hitting Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts in the back. The two dugouts were warned on Tuesday after Chris Sale’s pitch at Machado, so the teams were on notice about inside pitches. With that being said, Gausman has every right to be upset with Holbrook’s ruling.”
You can watch the video above. USA Today writer Andrew Joseph accused Holbrook of making a bogus ejection call because the pitch was “a 77 mph curveball. As dumb as baseball’s unwritten rules and dangerous philosophy on retribution is, if you’re going to throw at someone, it’s not going to be with a curveball.”
According to the Baltimore Sun, “Gausman charged to the plate and screamed in Holbrook’s face, appearing to say it was unintentional.”
2. Holbrook Ejected Adam Jones Just Two Days After Jones Said He Was Called Racial Slurs
Adam Jones was also ejected in the fifth, upset after a questionable Strike 2 call.
Holbrook gave a second Oriole the heave-ho, and it was Adam Jones, who caused national headlines when he revealed he was called racial slurs at Fenway Park. Fans subsequently gave Jones a standing ovation, and the Red Sox have condemned the incident.
Jones was ejected from the game in Boston on May 3 for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire. In the top of the fifth inning, the umpire made a late strike call on a pitch during Jones’ at-bat. He stepped away from the plate and voiced his displeasure with the call.
On very next pitch, Jones swung and missed, striking out. On his way back to Baltimore’s dugout, Jones continued to argue with the umpire, which led to him being tossed from the game.
3. Holbrook Has Been an Umpire Since 1998
Adam Jones #10 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts after being ejected by umpire Sam Holbrook #34 during the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on May 3, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Getty)
According to MLB, Holbrook has been an umpire for 15.5 years. He “became a member of the Major League staff in 1998…has worked the 2004 All-Star Game; the 2012 N.L. Wild Card Game; Division Series (2005, 07, 10, 13); the 2008 and 2012 American League Championship Series; the 2009 and 2011 National League Championship Series; and the 2010 World Series,” says MLB.
He previously worked in the Appalachian League (1990), Midwest League (1991), Carolina League (1992-93), Texas League (1993), Eastern League (1994-95) and International League (1995-97). MLB describes his proudest moment as “walking on the field for the first time under contract.”
He was the home plate umpire in game 7 of the 2016 World Series.
4. Holbrook, a Father of Two & Widower, Played Baseball in College & Volunteers With a Christian Athletes Group
Kendrys Morales #8 of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts after being thrown out at home plate as home plate umpire Sam Holbrook #34 calls him out against the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning during MLB game action at Rogers Centre on April 29, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Getty)
According to Major League Baseball, Holbrook was born in July 1965 in Kentucky and resides in Kentucky.
He has two children, Adam and Amy and received a B.S. and an M.S. from Eastern Kentucky University. According to MLB, Holbrook “does charitable work for Fellowship of Christian Athletes” and “played baseball for four years in college.”
Holbrook’s wife, Laura “Susie” Glass, died in 2014 after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was only 47 when she died four years after being diagnosed.
MLB says he “enjoys fishing, hunting, golf, and spending time with his family” and that he “most admires his parents for the job they did raising their family.”
Salaries for Major League umps can range from $90,000 to $350,000. There was a time, reports Kentucky.com, that Holbrook “was reading meters here in Lexington for Kentucky Utilities” when the umpires’ union briefly used a failed mass resignation strategy.
5. Fans Were Enraged by the Double Ejection
Home plate umpire Sam Holbrook #34 calls a player out on strikes during a game between the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins at U.S. Cellular Field on April 12, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox defeated the Twins 6-2. (Getty)
Baltimore fans took to social media to express their ire at Holbrook. Some called for him to be fired.
Congrats Sam Holbrook, you’ve thrown out a pitcher for hitting a guy with a slider and tossed Adam Jones for 1st time in career.
That there is a classic situation of an over-zealous umpire not understanding the situation. Hang your head in shame Sam Holbrook.
According to The Baltimore Sun, the ejections came “despite a conference call with commissioner Rob Manfred and Wednesday afternoon urging both teams to quell the dangerous aspects of their white-hot rivalry.”
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Sam Holbrook: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know