After a called strike to Eric Thames, HP Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt turned around and appeared to order Washington General Manager Mike Rizzo removed from the ballpark as Crew Chief Joe West stepped in for backup. Report: www.closecallsports.com/2020/...
Although Official Baseball Rules 8.01(c) and (c) contain an umpire's explicit authority to eject personnel to the playing surface (and dugouts, bullpens, etc.), Rule 8.01(b) authorizes umpires to "order a player, coach, manager, or club officer or employee to do or refrain from doing anything which affects the administering of these rules, and to enforce the prescribed penalties."
OBR 8.01(b) has been used, for instance, in the past by umpires to request stadium security remove rowdy, vulgar, or profane fans, and as a club officer himself, Rizzo would similarly fall directly under the scope of 8.01(b).
The judgment aspect of this is whether Rizzo did anything "which affects the administering of these rules," namely by plate umpire Wendelstedt.
For instance, certain verbal remarks can rise to a level wherein the verbalizations alone meet the criteria of 8.01(b), but this ordinarily would require the most unusually severe verbal misconduct.
As for Rizzo, he has a documented history of poor behavior with umpires. In 2016, Rizzo confronted umpire Jim Joyce after a game in New York in which Joyce had made a call Rizzo disagreed with. Rizzo acknowledged after the fact that an "unfortunate incident" had occurred, but refused to apologize for his actions.
In 2011, Rizzo was suspended for a similar confrontation with officials and in 2012, he was fined for comments he made about Cole Hammels.
5 сен 2020
