Twins manager Rocco Baldelli ejected after umpire's ruling forces pitching change
Rocco Baldelli had every right to be angry at the umpires after this incident.
During the bottom of the fifth between the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros, a bizarre situation unfolded between Baldelli and the umpires that led to the Twins manager being ejected.
When the Twins pitching coach went to talk to Aaron Sanchez on the mound, the umpires ruled that Baldelli had already used a mound visit earlier in the inning … during a benches clearing dust up.
One batter earlier, the benches cleared between the Twins and Astros when Jose Altuve was hit by a pitch from Sanchez. Then, when Baldelli sent pitching coach Pete Maki to the mound, the umpires forced the Twins to remove Sanchez from the game for having two visits in the inning. The ruling took Baldelli and the Twins by surprise too, as Minnesota didn't even have a pitcher warming up in the bullpen.
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Suffice it to say, Baldelli was irate at the umpire's ruling.
"On the way back to the dugout (after the bench-clearing incident), I just walked over to him (Sanchez) and said, 'Are you fine?' He said, 'yes.' I walked away. Pretty straightforward," Baldelli said after the game. "After a few more pitches, I asked Pete Maki to go out there and make sure he was lined up to get the next guy out. When he went out there we were alerted that there was a visit given to me during a bench-clearing incident.
"I didn't agree with it. I didn't like that it was given in the first place. But I really didn't like the lack of communication on a really unusual play and in a period of time when there's people all over the field. My back's to the field walking back to the dugout after everything and then being told that's the case, I didn't like it. I think at the bare minimum, I think it's necessary for someone to come over and let us know that a visit was given."
It's no wonder Baldelli went off on the umpires here.