Red Sox broadcasters did not have much nice to say about the first base umpire after he ejected first baseman Willson Contreras Monday night for daring to question one of his calls.
During Boston’s 6-3 win over the Washington Nationals at Fenway Park Monday night, first base umpire Nic Lentz called Contreras out on strikes after ruling on appeal that he did not check his swing on strike three in the second inning.
While walking back to the Red Sox dugout, Willson Contreras tapped his helmet several times, indicating that he did not agree with the call, as that is the sign hitters use to appeal balls and strikes using the newly implemented Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System.
Of course, a check swing ruling by an umpire is not part of that system and Lentz apparently took offense to Contreras making the gesture after his call.
Will Middlebrooks, the Boston Red Sox color commentator who played in the big leagues for six seasons, expressed his upset feelings about Lentz tossing Contreras during the NESN broadcast.
“Did he just toss somebody? I mean, how soft can you be?” Middlebrooks said. “So no one can say anything to you? So basically saying, ‘I disagree. I’m challenging that,’ and you get tossed for that? Are you kidding me? How soft are we getting?
“That is an absolute joke. That’s embarrassing to the game. The game needs the best players on the field. This is an entertainment business. It’s for the fans. What are you doing?”
The umpire explained why he ejected Willson Contreras after the game
Following the game, umpire Nic Lentz told a pool reporter, “I called him out on appeal for the check swing, and as he was walking back to the dugout, he started gesturing, tapping his helmet, like he wanted to challenge something that is not a challengeable call. And so disrespect, and again gesturing towards what he thought was an incorrect call, got him removed from the game.”
Lentz added that making that gesture in a mocking way is “a lot like drawing a line in the dirt” and that doing so is “on the list for items for removal from the game.”
“You can have a little bit of discretion,” Lentz continued. “But in a situation like this, where it’s pretty immediate and showing disagreement or trying to gesture in that sort of manner, it would be immediate.”