Why did Randy Rosenberg eject JT Realmuto? Bizarre umpiring decision raises eyebrows

Modified Mar 28, 2023 04:52 GMT

World Series - Philadelphia Phillies v Houston Astros - Game Six — Why did Randy Rosenberg eject JT Realmuto?

Philadelphia Phillies’ catcher JT Realmuto was recently thrown out of a Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays due to an awkward ball exchange with umpire Randy Rosenberg.

Rosenberg had just finished calling a pitch-clock violation on Craig Kimbrel when the at-bat in the fourth inning turned into one of baseball’s most bizzarre ejections. Kimbrel asked for a new ball after the violation, and after getting rid of the newly given ball, asked for another one. Realmuto then blindly turned his glove away as the ball hit the ground.

That late movement caused the umpire to immediately eject Realmuto off the game in what seemed to be a weird misinterpretation of events. Rosemberg apparently thought that Realmuto was disrespectful.

The broadcast, though, showed that the catcher was watching the mound and couldn’t have seen what the umpire was doing.

Why did Rosenberg eject JT Realmuto?

A simple explanation could have cleared it all up, but Rosenberg, who made his MLB umpiring debut in 2020, adamantly stood by the ejection.

Realmuto, in disbelief, left the field while fist-pumping. Phillies manager Rob Thomson came to the plate for an explanation:

“How does he expect me to know he’s giving me the ball right there? ...’I’m not even looking at him". -JT Realmuto

JT Realmuto made his way off the diamond with a few rah-rah fist pumps for the crowd. Phillies Manager Rob Thomson argued about the matter but to no avail.

MLB players, at times, have experimented with how best to use the new rules to their advantage before the regular season. Crew chief Dan Iassogna, though, defended Rosenberg's decision after the game:

“I believe Randy felt like the situation warranted an ejection, and that’s what he did.” - Dan Iasogna

The Phillies won the game 5-2. They play the Blue Jays again on Tuesday (Mar. 28) to end spring training.

About the author

Pablo Ricalde has been a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda since 2022. A Communication Studies graduate, he attended journalism courses and specialized in copywriting, further adding to his background as a writer.

After 4 years working in the advertising industry and 2 years in sports journalism, Pablo currently works at a Marketing Consulting firm on top of his role at Sportskeeda. He believed in sourcing information only from reliable sources, and refrains from including any opinionated content in his articles.

Pablo was introduced to baseball as a kid by his grandfather, who even coached him in Little League for a year. A massive Boston Red Sox supporter, he ended up becoming a fan in an attempt to be original (as his parents are Yankees fans). Pablo also supports the Diablos Rojos from the Mexican league, his hometown team.

His favorite players of all time are David Ortiz and Derek Jeter, while his current favorites include Fernando Tatis Jr., Ronald Acuna Jr., Alex Verdugo and Randy Arozarena. His favorite moment as a baseball fan was when the Boston Red Sox won the 2018 World Series Championship, as he was too young to remember 2004.

A huge sports fan in general, Pablo's non-baseball interests include football, basketball, American football, and motorsports (F1, IndyCar and Nascar), music and cinema.

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Edited by Bhargav