The game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets at Fenway Park Tuesday was upended in the third inning when a home plate umpire ejected Boston starting pitcher Walker Buehler, and manager Alex Cora who left the dugout to protest the ejection.
But the ejections were precipitated by that umpire, Mike Estabrook, grossly failing to make the correct call on a pitch from Buehler to slugger Juan Soto with one out in the third inning.
After a pitch that replays and pitch tracking clearly showed to be over the middle of the plate and well within the strike zone, Buelher while standing in the mound dirt told Estabrook, “It’s right down the middle.” His reaction could be heard on an “ump cam” video broadcast by the Mets cable network SNY.
‘Get Back on the Mound!’
Estabrook can also be heard instructing Buehler to “get back on the mound.” But the video shows that Buehler was, in fact, on the mound at that time.
Only later when Estabrook removed his mask and walked out toward the pitcher did the 30-year-old former Los Angeles Dodger advance onto the grass, continuing his argument with the umpire, injecting a profanity into his insistence that the pitch was “right down the middle.”
Moments later, Estabrook ejected Buehler from the game.
But one former Red Sox player, Lou Merloni — a Framingham, Massachusetts, native who played parts of six seasons as a backup infielder for Boston from 1998 to 2003 — was watching the game and said later that Estabrook was too aggressive in seeking out a confrontation with Buehler, and should be held accountable by MLB, with a fine.
The mere use of a single profanity is not grounds for ejection, Merloni — now a broadcaster for the Red Sox cable network NESN — wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
“‘That was right down the f*@!ing middle'”is not the ‘magic word.’. That should not get him ejected. Estabrook missed the call and then yelled for (Buehler) to get back to the mound, while Buehler was standing on the mound,” Merloni wrote.”Estabrook should be fined and the public should know about it.”
When Red Sox starting pitcher Walker Buehler complained, Estabrook aggressively approached Buehler on the mound and ejected him.
He also ejected manager Alex Cora.
Umpires Offer Questionable Explanation
Cora said that after he was ejected he was able to watch a video replay of the incident whole in the Red Sox Fenway Park clubhouse. He also felt that Estabrook was overly “aggressive,” he said.
“I was inside and they showed a replay in the fourth inning because they had that camera,” said Cora. “I don’t want to make excuses, but it looked like it was very aggressive,” Cora said, as quoted by MassLive writer Chris Cotillo.
Umpiring crew chief Laz Diaz, after the game, offered the umpire’s explanation for the ejection.
“He can say stuff from the mound. But once he comes off the mound, he’s leaving his position to argue balls and strikes,” Diaz told the media. “Once anybody leaves their position to argue balls and strikes, that’s an immediate ejection.”
That drew an online clap back from Buelher himself, who appeared to reference the fact that he was indeed on the mound when he made his initial comments. On his own social media account, Buehler replied to a post by Cotillo relaying the statement by Diaz.
“Who cut the distance?” Buehler wrote.
Former Red Sox Player Demands Fine on Ump Who Blew Call, Ejected Boston Pitcher