We’ve seen a lot of strange ejections so far in the 2023 Major League Baseball season and the one that happened Tuesday night in Toronto might have jumped to the top of that list.
Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker went out to visit the mound, where he talked with his pitcher, Alek Manoah, like he would on any mound visit.
Home plate umpire Malachi Moore, who had made some bad calls before this moment, immediately made his way to the mound and was seen listening in on the conversation. A few seconds later he ejected Walker, who was never even looking in Moore’s direction.
Check this out:
Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker wasn’t even looking at the umpire when he got ejected 😭pic.twitter.com/KBFfwqRD3R
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 18, 2023
Here's another view of Moore eavesdropping in on the visit:
The Blue Jays pitching coach wasn't even looking at Malachi Moore lol pic.twitter.com/N48rzcAm0V
— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) July 18, 2023
That really did seem like Moore knew what he was doing and that he was just looking to eject Walker from the game before he even walked out to the mound, which is a pretty lame thing to do.
Mound visits are 30 seconds long.
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) July 19, 2023
Pete Walker had been on the mound for all of three seconds before Malachi Moore walked to the mound. He's supposed to do that with 10 seconds remaining.
No matter what Walker said, Moore's intention was to throw him out. pic.twitter.com/ZyT8FoZ4Mx
MLB fans were not happy:
End the ump show. Now. https://t.co/tL4qG7HpkN
— Michael (@MichaelT162) July 19, 2023
Pitching coach wasn't talking to the umpire. Moore knew he was terrible so instead of breaking up the conversation, he purposefully eavesdrops until he hears something he doesn't like. This is ejection hunting. Should be suspendable. @CloseCallSports https://t.co/qLXZvRzhSv
— Coach Orville (@CoachOrville) July 19, 2023
I think it was obvious Walker was gonna get his dig in, but Moore went out there to toss him, no question. Stands there, leans in to get a good listen and tosses him. Get me the robo umps. https://t.co/W87BpNsCgM
— Paul (@ticatsroar) July 18, 2023
bro the ump missed like 6 calls before pete got ejected how is this dude employed lmfao https://t.co/OwnXuJWe3j
— . (@loafsforever) July 19, 2023
I have seen some very bad umpiring this year but Malachi is leading the pack in bad calls. It's a tough job but if you're not up to it you shouldn't be out there! https://t.co/AhMAfjTLrF
— Gary Wills (@gman_wills) July 19, 2023
This is the reason why umps will be replaced with bits. Soon. No accountability. Next to tenured prods, most secure job on the planet... https://t.co/RMTWZNErfH
— Kahnsiglieri (@kahnsiglieri1) July 19, 2023
No one comes to the ballpark for the Ump show! Embarassing stuff! https://t.co/GZYHgTd7i5
— Avry's Sports Show (@Avry) July 19, 2023
