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Anyone who’s watched baseball on a regular basis knows umpires aren’t shy about using their authority to send players and managers to the showers when they feel their authority has been undermined. However, those aren’t the only people who run the risk of getting ejected—a lesson a DJ at a minor league game in Canada recently learned the hard way.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume the vast majority of people reading this aren’t intimately familiar with the Intercounty Baseball League.
The Canadian organization has a history stretching back more than a century and currently boasts nine teams in Ontario comprised of college players as well as pros who are either grinding for a shot at a bigger stage or have accepted they’ve entered the twilight of their career.
On Sunday, the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers hosted the Guelph Royals for an afternoon showdown that saw the visitors coast to a 13-3 victory over the home team during a contest where a pretty strange scene unfolded during the bottom of the fifth inning.
A Reddit user shared a video of what unfolded after Barnstormers DJ and PA announcer Jeff Hopman “used a sound clip of someone saying ‘bruh’ after a questionable ball-strike call at home plate” during an at-bat where designated hitter Seth Strong was ultimately sent to the dugout after striking out swinging.
The Chatham-Kent Sports Network reports Hopman was subsequently sent packing for the day courtesy of the umpires who took exception to that clip being played and tossed him from the game, a development that was met with some very raucous boos from spectators who obviously disagreed with that decision.
[Highlight] Barnstormers DJ and Public Address Announcer Jeff Hopman gets ejected from the game
byu/charger03 inIBLbaseball
It’s certainly not something you see every day, but it wasn’t without precedent.
In 2012, umps pulled a similar move during a Class-A game where the DJ blasted “Three Blind Mice” through the PA system before he was given the boot.