Latest umpiring debacle? [Now discussing Davidson]

[Fatter than Joey]

I don't think it is stated in the rules that they have the authority to eject spectators, but they have done it anyways.

 

If you read umpiring manuals at any level, they deal with the process of ejecting fans. There was an online chat (before this incident) with a person in charge of officiating MLB, there was a question "Can an umpire eject a fan" -- and the answer was "yes"

 

My point is that tethering this guy to a bench and ticketing him is a tad severe if Bob Davidson is the only person who thinks he did something wrong.

 

If you google this story there are references to "Brewer players telling the umpires how drunk this guy was". I wonder if his ticket had more to do with his drunkenness, than it did with his ejection. I would like to know exactly what his ticket was for.

 

If what the fan said was truly abhorrent to Davidson, he could have discreetly notified an usher between innings. But no, Davidson had to grandstand

 

I also read that Davidson said "he wanted to wait between innings to be discreet, however he thought Molina was going to escalate the situation".

 

Davidson is a grandstander -- no doubt about that.

 

But, I'm troubled that Davidson is the sole reason this guy was ticketed. I don't know ... I'm thinking out loud, but this struck me as a really interesting legal conundrum.

 

Agreed -- I don't know if you get ejected if it is just standard operating procedure to get a ticket? or perhaps he was being loud and vulgar after the usher removed him...

[Thurston Fluff]

I don't think a joke based innuendo is enough to call something homophobic. It was a crude joke based on the dual meaning of the phrase but jokes often have that crude aspect when done by simple minded (or drunk) people. Crudity has never been reason enough to take a joke seriously or to do what Davidson did.

All that said if I was stuck near that person I would have been more than happy to see him leave. There is no bigger buzz kill at a game than a drunk, obnoxious person yelling stupid remarks throughout the game.

[bucks2281]

The more I read, the more justified I believe his ticket was. It really makes me wonder why the ushering staff didn't act. Nevertheless, Davidson set a bad precedent and is still a complete jerk.

 

I also read that Davidson said "he wanted to wait between innings to be discreet, however he thought Molina was going to escalate the situation".

 

As a fan at this game, I would have loved to see this. But wait, I thought Molina was SUCH a classy guy? And, agreed BuC, I think what the fan said was relatively benign.

[TooLiveBrew]

There was an online chat (before this incident) with a person in charge of officiating MLB, there was a question "Can an umpire eject a fan" -- and the answer was "yes"

 

Yes, per the rules, an umpire explicitly can eject a fan -- one that enters the playing surface. There is no mention of any other situation in which an umpire can eject a fan, and no mention of how an umpire otherwise cannot eject a fan.

 

 

I also read that Davidson said "he wanted to wait between innings to be discreet, however he thought Molina was going to escalate the situation"

 

And this is a problem I have with the situation. Molina's desire to break MLB's rules, and the law, should not dictate Davidson going beyond his stated rights as an umpire. The more appropriate action would have been to eject Molina. Fans heckle players every game in every city, and you never see this. This was a clear overreaction by Davidson, favoring a player that whines & works any angle he can with the umpires, and stepping past his rights as defined in the MLB rulebook. If this had happened during a Red Sox-Yankees series, ESPN would be putting on a full inquest into the situation.

[Fatter than Joey]

Yes, per the rules, an umpire explicitly can eject a fan -- one that enters the playing surface. There is no mention of any other situation in which an umpire can eject a fan, and no mention of how an umpire otherwise cannot eject a fan.

 

No matter how thin you slice it, umpires have the authority to eject fans regardless of their location-- If you read umpiring manuals, -- they instruct umpires how to correctly eject fans.

 

This is the justification Froemming gave: The responsibility of the HP ump is to "Take full charge of, and be responsible for, the proper conduct of the game;"

 

It really makes me wonder why the ushering staff didn't act.

 

I think in a nutshell, this is why the responsibility falls on the umpire.

 

And, agreed BuC, I think what the fan said was relatively benign.

 

Froemming was in attendance and heard the fan in question and confirmed that what he said was "profane" -- I have no idea what that means, but I doubt it was something people would say in mixed company.

[jeffy]

Froemming said the fan, who was wearing a Milwaukee Brewers jersey, had used vulgarity in his jeering of Molina.

 

One, Davidson has clearly stated the fan was ejected for making a homophobic slur

 

Two, I said this in my post:

 

All that said, I do think that Davidson is an umpire prone to grandstanding, and I do certainly allow for the possibility that perhaps the fan didn't make the homophobic slur... but if he did -- I have no problem with his ejection.

 

 

Let's assume the guy is telling the truth about what his comment was. To me, calling that "a homophobic slur" is just more grandstanding. Froemming is just circling the wagons around one of his umpire buddies, imo. I did not get the impression he heard the fan, my impression was he was reporting that Davidson had told him the fan was making "profane" comments.

 

 

Here's more of what Davidson has to say about it:

 

Davidson laughed when asked about the crew making four ejections in one game.

 

"I thought it was great," he said.

 

 

http://www.kansascity.com...cause.html#ixzz0z3t066NI

[Fatter than Joey]

Froemming is just circling the wagons around one of his umpire buddies, imo. I did not get the impression he heard the fan

 

Froemming was at the game, and clearly stated he hear the remarks and qualified them as "profane"

 

To me, calling that "a homophobic slur" is just more grandstanding

 

I think no matter how thin you would want to slice that -- it would be offensive to homosexuals, and probably a good portion of other people trying to enjoy a baseball game in a somewhat civil manner.

[TSack27]

A different report that seems to suggest that Molina didn't think it was profane, or player prompted ejection... so who's to be believed?

“Molina said he hadn't heard anything other than Davidson saying, "I'm going to throw that guy out."

 

"What's the big deal?" Molina said.

 

"Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, who much earlier had been ejected by Davidson, said Molina had told him that profanity had not been used.”


A professional umpire thinking "it was great" to make the ejections, tells me enough about his attitude.