Tuesday’s game between the San Francisco Giants and the Tampa Bay Rays was the second career game for Giants rookie outfielder Wade Meckler. A number of questionable strike calls were made against Meckler in the game, and Giants manager Gabe Kapler decided to stand up for his rookie.
Meckler struck out swinging in his first at-bat and had a number of borderline pitches go against him as strikes. His second at-bat started the same way, as the first pitch appeared to be high. But this time, the Giants dugout took exception to the call.
A number of players and coaches inside the Giants dugout including Kapler decided to shout in frustration at home-plate umpire Chad Whitson.
Whitson took exception to that, ejecting Kapler before he ever even stepped onto the field to argue to call. Kapler then came onto the field to air his grievances with Whitson’s strike zone in defense of his rookie player.
Kapler got an ovation from the Giants crowd for defending Meckler, and fans at home agreed that some of the calls going against him in the game were questionable at best.
Part of Kapler’s decision to argue with the call is certainly about defending a rookie hitter. Another was to potentially fire up his team, who had been held scoreless with only one hit at that point in the game.
It may have done that for Meckler, as he went on to get the first MLB hit of his career in his third at-bat of the game.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.