Baseball Manager Uses Extreme Prop To Show Disgust With Umpire
Baseball manager Rafael Valenzuela let the umpire know his calls were rubbish on Wednesday, carrying a trash can to home plate in protest. (Watch the video below.)
Valenzuela, the manager of the minor league Bowling Green (Ky.) Hot Rods in the South Atlantic League, had already been ejected for arguing with umpire David Saball. The skipper kicked and scooped dirt on home plate for dramatic effect. Then he upped the ante by retrieving a large receptacle and plopping it down where the umpire would normally be to call balls and strikes.
Gee, ya think there was a message there?
Not only did the Hot Rods, the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, lose their manager, they also lost the game to the Hickory Crawdads, 8-4, in Hickory, North Carolina.
Valenzuela wrote on social media that he was thankful to God for another day on Thursday morning (as he does on most mornings) but he might have a day or two less as manager if a suspension comes through.
HuffPost has reached out to the team for a possible update.
Bowling Green manager Rafael Valenzuela just got ejected from tonight’s game and his reaction is a mix of sandbox play and chaos. pic.twitter.com/qjph9zoyl1
— Geoff Pontes (@GeoffPontesBA) August 22, 2024
