Bruce Dickinson
Footballguy
There was a play in the Cubs/Cardinals game last Friday that made me curious about MLB rules surrounding ejections.
John Lackey pitching. 2-2 count with two on and two out.
Next pitch seems to catch a lot of the plate at proper height for strike three. Hitter starts walking back to dugout, Cubs start leaving the field. But the plate ump called the pitch ball 3.
Of course, the next pitch is a single to center that scores a run.
While running to back up home plate, Lackey resumes yelling at the plate ump for blowing the call on the previous pitch and gets thrown out of the game.
My questions:
Can an ump eject a player while the ball is in play?
If Lackey was ejected, and then a throw at the plate was off-line, would Lackey be allowed to make a play on it, or would he be expected to leave the field since he's been kicked out of the game?
TIA.
Followup question: the catcher also argued the pitch call and got ejected, but he waited for the play to be over. During his tantrum, he threw his mask to the ground, which happened to bounce and softly graze the ump on the leg, but any reasonable person watching the play would say the catcher wasn't throwing his mask at the ump. Had the mask hit the ump on the fly, would that be an instant suspension?
John Lackey pitching. 2-2 count with two on and two out.
Next pitch seems to catch a lot of the plate at proper height for strike three. Hitter starts walking back to dugout, Cubs start leaving the field. But the plate ump called the pitch ball 3.
Of course, the next pitch is a single to center that scores a run.
While running to back up home plate, Lackey resumes yelling at the plate ump for blowing the call on the previous pitch and gets thrown out of the game.
My questions:
Can an ump eject a player while the ball is in play?
If Lackey was ejected, and then a throw at the plate was off-line, would Lackey be allowed to make a play on it, or would he be expected to leave the field since he's been kicked out of the game?
TIA.
Followup question: the catcher also argued the pitch call and got ejected, but he waited for the play to be over. During his tantrum, he threw his mask to the ground, which happened to bounce and softly graze the ump on the leg, but any reasonable person watching the play would say the catcher wasn't throwing his mask at the ump. Had the mask hit the ump on the fly, would that be an instant suspension?
