Was this a quick trigger or was the Little League umpire well within his rights to kick this coach out of the game?
During Wednesday's Great Lakes regional finals game, with a trip to the Little League World Series on the line, Team Kentucky assistant coach Matthew Teague was ejected by the home plate umpire.
Down 6-0 in the top of the 4th and running out of time for a comeback, Teague was seen meeting with one of his hitters and turning his attention to the umpire who had just called out a Kentucky hitter on a tough strike three call for the second out.
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"Oh boy, Matthew Teague has (been) ejected from the game," the ESPN announcer said while adding that the umpire warned Teague not to come closer to the batter's box.
Were there words exchanged between Teague and the umpire? If so, ESPN didn't let fans hear what was said. The network failed to play the audio from Teague, who was mic'd up.
According to Little League observers on Facebook, coaches "receive a blanket warning" at the start of tournaments that there is a zero tolerance policy on arguing with umpires. Add in the fact that coaches are mic'd up and it's extremely rare for a Little League coach to be ejected from the World Series or regional tournaments.
In the Little League rule book, Rule 9.02(b) states: If a manager believes a decision conflicts with the written rules (a misapplication of a rule, not a judgment call), the manager may request "Time." Once the home plate umpire grants time, the manager (and only the head manager) may approach the umpire who made the call to politely ask for clarification or appeal.
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Based on the ejection, the umpire seems to have applied this exact rule to give Teague the boot. How did fans react online? About as you'd expect. It was a mixed bag of people arguing it was soft to kick the coach out of a meaningful game while others argued that Teague was foolish for thinking he could push the envelope.
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"They were down 6-0 was tossing him even worth it? No. Umpire try to show off....nothing more," one fan wrote on Facebook in support of Teague.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side, a fan took a shot at the coach and his shorts, writing, "Balls & Strikes arguments = zero and non-starter. Already warned- he can take his Ralph Lauren shorts to the BUS."
You get the idea. Emotions are high this time of year. We're talking about 12-year-old baseball, TV, glory and fame. Add it up and you have a powder keg of emotions just waiting to boil over.
