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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Andrew Joseph

Umpire Phil Cuzzi baited Gabe Kapler into a rare ejection by confronting Giants dugout

It notably takes a lot for Giants manager Gabe Kapler to get ejected from a ballgame. He rarely feels the need to get into heated exchanges with umpires, claiming that most ejections are just for show.

But on Thursday, umpire Phil Cuzzi clearly struck a nerve with Kapler. And you know what — Kapler had every right to be upset.

In the middle of the sixth inning, Giants pitcher Jarlin García had an exchange with Mookie Betts and the Dodgers when he mimicked the Dodgers’ dugout celebration. Cuzzi saw that and followed Garcia to the dugout to lecture the pitcher about sportsmanship.

That was when Kapler intervened.

Kapler was ejected — the first time as Giants manager — during his fiery argument, but really, the whole sequence came back to Cuzzi. There’s no reason for a big-league umpire to go to a dugout and give a Ted Talk about unwritten rules. Betts may have taken issue with the celebration (especially given the score at the time with the Dodgers leading), but it’s a rivalry game and not Cuzzi’s job to police celebrations on the Dodgers’ behalf.

No wonder MLB fans appreciated Kapler standing up for his pitcher. Cuzzi crossed the line.

This was how Twitter reacted

Also credit to Kapler: For his first Giants ejection, he certainly got the most out of it.

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