MLB umpire ripped for ‘bush league’ calls, ejection

The traveling ump show was in Baltimore on Saturday night, working the game between the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Taking center stage was Vic Carapazza, home plate umpire for Saturday’s game.

Baltimore third baseman Ramón Urías struck out looking in the fifth inning. Two of the strike calls against him would generously be described as debatable. Urías was clearly frustrated after the called third strike but didn’t outwardly argue with Carapazza. In fact, if Carapazza had continued to walk away from Urías, few people — if any — would have known an argument was taking place.

But Carapazza turned back toward Urías and ejected him.

Jim Palmer, doing color commentary for MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network) made his frustrations with Carapazza known, saying (among other things), “They didn’t come to see you umpire, Vic,” “It’s a bush league call right there,” “You really kind of embarrass your profession when you do that” and saying that Carapazza was “not particularly classy there.”

Palmer’s argument didn’t quite match the level of intensity of the dispute between his former manager, Earl Weaver and umpire Bill Haller in a 1980 game (incidentally between these same two teams). But clearly Palmer learned a thing or two from his former manager.

Baseball fans flooded to Twitter to back Palmer and criticize Carapazza.

@MLB do something. https://t.co/enk0qcKEwr

— @georgiaontap (@georgiaontap) April 23, 2023

[Photo Credit: MASN]