Brett Lawrie goes ballistic
Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie went nuts after a called third strike tonight. The pitch was pretty far off the plate, and Lawrie was completely in the right for being pissed off about the call. But then, he spiked his helmet...and the helmet hit home plate umpire Bill Miller. Not good. Lawrie will likely face a suspension for that one.
The situation that the call was made in was absolutely terrible for Lawrie and the Blue Jays, in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out in a one run game. If Lawrie got on base, the Blue Jays would have had at least a hope at a rally.
Things eventually got worse (somehow) in Toronto, as a fan threw a beer at Miller as the umpires were exciting the field after the game.
Really? I mean, really Toronto? What a disastrous situation all-around. And of course, after the game, Miller and the umpires refused comment multiple times. What a mess.
[h/t: Cork Gaines, Drunk Jays Fans]
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BTW, looking at the gif of Miller coming off the field, did he call the fan (who threw the cup and obviously shouldn't have!) an a**hole?? So much for being humble after screwing up two calls in a row that affected the outcome of a (home) game!
Miller should retire. How could he make those calls? Lawrie was thrown out of the game BEFORE he threw his helmet. I'm sure he didn't mean to hit the ump with the helmet. But wasn't that also a quick ejection of Larie? I know you can't argue balls & strikes but TWO such obvious missed calls! Come on!
The call was extremely bad... But it was also deliberate because Lawrie headed for 1st base early, being that it was so obvious to everyone. That pissed off the ump and he made the bad and late call -- because he could. His call cannot be overruled by replay -- and that's a problem because you can make any call you want and it will stick. The ump should be fired for being so authoritarian and thin skinned. I've seen a lot of bad calls, but few deliberate ones.
I know he got some bad luck when he threw his helmet to the ground and it bounced into the idiot recently called an umpire. I have been watching quite a few games on TV this year and you can see from the graphic that tracks pitches that the umpires have been really, really bad at calling balls and strikes. What ever happened to real umpires that could see a little bit better than these people whose strike zone wanders all over the field. Any day now the pitcher is going to throw one so high the catcher can't get it and he'll call it a strike. The teams and the fans deserve better than what we have right now. It's a disgrace!!!
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age happend to all those umps. they need to get younger crews out on the field. these guys can't see the plays (jim joyce), the zone (bill miller), and complain about the length of the game (joe west).
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@humormagi Bad luck? He threw it directly in the umpire's direction. It's not as if it bounced 90 degrees sideways or something.
But hey, you love your Jays, right?
I agree. We have to be fair. Brett Lawrie slammed his helmet down IN THE DIRECTION OF Bill Miller! We all make mistakes. But, no bad luck. He has to be suspended! As well, Bill Miller should be fined for ejecting Lawrie so quickly! He ejected him as soon as he started talking.
Shame on Bill Miller!
Shame on Brett Lawrie!
Shame on the Blue Jays fan(s)!
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Both were horrible calls by the ump, and yea Lawrie shouldnt of thrown his helmet but Miller threw him out of the game as soon as he turned around, pretty quick almost like he had his mind set up to do so. I say fine Lawrie and remove Miller for at least a few games while he goes through retraining
As an umpire I know I have booted a few calls myself, I'm sure my calling a perfect game is just as rare if not more so than a MLB pitcher throwing a perfect game. I may agree with some of the posts on here, but I will never admit it, I'm the last one to criticize an umpire. Everyone knows you dont arguie Balls/ Strikes or take off from the Batters Box before the pitch is called- unless it hits you, or is thrown behind you.
As far as firing the guy. I'm all for it just as long as you fire players when they make mistakes/errors as well or get caught looking at the mid thigh FB down the middle of the plate.
@unicatfan Spoken just like an umpire. Let me ask you a question: Should an umpire's deliberate missed call, affecting the potential outcome of a game, go unpunished?
Absolutely not, but proving it was deliberate would be hard. Unless you want to pull a Cole Hamel's and admit it. I think we have seen some out/safe calls that werent as close as that pitch and caused less of an uproar
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As a Deaf NCAA Softball Ump, he was the worst strike zone calls I ever seen. Kick his butt out ! But Brett still needs to attend anger-management course. Throwing his helmet at Ump pays a hefty fine and a poor role model. Arguing is fine, but other than that is unacceptable. It is ordinary for anyone who loves to hate some Blues. Peace out.
DO away with instant replay. Respect authority. Yeah the instant replay clearly shows they were both balls. So what. Its a human game played by humans. Not cameras. Cameras have ruined pro sports with instant replay. As far as the fans go. the guy who through the cup of water at the ump should be banned from that ballpark for life... this fans are fluckin idiots.
We got Joe West in the NL...He is probably the most vindictive ump in baseball...Just ask the managers and players...he is a real hater when it comes to paybacks...He holds grudges for years and years
Lawrie should have known that he needed to be hacking at ANYTHING close after making his preemptive trot to first base. Every hitter knows that when you "show up " an umpire , that you will be getting rung up somehow sooner or later by that ump good call or bad call..doesn't matter...
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@JoeSantoro http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/numlocation.php?pitchSel=407845&game=gid_2012_05_15_tbamlb_tormlb_1/&batterX=71&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=1&s_type=3
There's the strike zone plot....strike two (pitch five) was clearly the worse call, but strike three (pitch six) was also off the plate
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@JoeSantoro clearly you have never played the sport, those were BOTH balls even on replay they show that the 1st pitch was WAY outside.....
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Those pitches were clearly NOT strikes. This umpire needs to be released and this batter's score card needs to be - 1 strike out. I have been playing Baseball my entire life. The pitch was outside and the other was above his chest. Blue Jays 2 - Umpire 0
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@joe12345 no more instant replay in baseball...please ! Just evaluate job performance and keep/fire accordingly just like any other job...but that is just fantasy...their union will stop at nothing to protect even the most inept employee...the umps should strive to never be the center of controversy , but some just have to get their mug time in....
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Most umpires are pretty good. Some think they are important like Miller, He needs to be removed since anyone could see that these 2 pitches weren't close. He is bad for baseball. And I'm a Cardinal fan. We have 2 in National league that have the same mentality, that they are important, and every now and then control a outcome when it's obvious they have a predetermined outcome.
you are right joe west is theworst. Bad umpires should be able to be fired not hired for life . however these umps are looking like they are betting. @hockeydad
@SteveZimmerman No refees in Baseball, just Umpires. And you NEED umpires. They just need to make them go in for re-testing every year. Blue Jays were CLEARLY ROBBED. They have a great ball club.
