The old Ump/Manager argument is still a part of baseball in our current COVID reality, but man does it look different than it did a year ago.
Home plate umpire Jordan Baker was quite unhappy to see Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Derek Holland lounging around in the empty stands during Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The ump made the first “You’re OUTTA here” call of the season and tossed Holland out of the game for not being in his team’s dugout where he belonged.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton quickly stormed out of the dugout to contest the call. But before he got near umpire Baker, both paused to put on their masks, and then, instead of the traditional toe-to-toe shouting match, they danced with each other from about three feet distance.
Social distancing sort of makes the whole ump/manager argument tradition seem a bit hollow, doesn’t it?
Perhaps more amusing, Derek Holland may have just become the first Pirates pitcher to be tossed out of a game before ever even playing in one. Holland just signed with the Pirates before the COVID-19 hysteria and has yet to take the field for the team.
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