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Mike Napoli says ump ejected him for not picking up his bat
Mike Napoli was tossed in the second inning of Sunday's Boston Red Sox game in St. Pete against the Tampa Bay Rays, appearing to get livid about a third strike call from first-year umpire Tripp Gibson.
But before you sweep this away as another tough day for Napoli (who is hitting .203) or another sign of Red Sox frustration (the AL East cellar isn't fun), there's actually a more interesting story here than a called third strike and an angry K victim.
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If you listen to Napoli and manager John Farrell they'll tell you Napoli wasn't sent to the showers because he wasn't happy with the call. He was actually tossed, they say, because he didn't pick up his bat. Here's Napoli's explanation of what happened, via The Boston Herald's Scott Lauber:
"First of all, it was a ball," Napoli said of a low, outside slider from Rays ace Chris Archer that was called a strike by Gibson. "And I thought I walked, so that's why I dropped my bat. I had a conversation with (Gibson) and told him I thought it was a ball, and he said it was a good pitch. Started taking off my batting gloves, start[ed] walking back to the dugout, and he told me I forgot my bat. I kind of stopped a little bit, and he told me to come pick up my bat. I pointed to the bat boy who picks up our bats, and he tossed me.
"So when he tossed me, I told him how I felt. I mean, I was walking away, I was going back to the dugout, and he was telling me to come back and pick up my bat when it was over. It's kind of embarrassing. I don't know how you can throw someone out for that. I'm not trying to get thrown out in the second inning. We've got a short bench."
Napoli does have a point. That's why teams have bat boys, ya know. And it wasn't like he angrily tossed his bat. He thought it was ball four and was ready to trot down to first base. The bat on the ground could have been the last straw for Gibson — who was named a full-time umpire by MLB in February — or this could have been yet another ump show. Perhaps from a rookie trying to set a tone?
We saw an ump confront Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester last week, charging the mound to come at an angry Lester. Lester, for his side of things, said he was mad, but he wasn't directing it at home plate ump Andy Fletcher.
Summer's here and tempers are rising. Maybe we're just getting to the point in the baseball season where everybody needs a break?
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
