Minnesota-Zwillinge Manager Rocco Baldelli was furious with the officials overseeing their 3-2 defeat. Toronto Blue Jays Sunday afternoon.
Baldelli was ejected on the 10th after the umpires ruled that Twins catcher Gary Sanchez blocked the plate on a home run that ultimately gave the Blue Jays the win.
Cavan-Taube Target hit a victim fly in the 10th inning and attempted a home run after Whit Merrifield made a play to left field. Merrifield collided with Sanchez at the plate and was called out first – which would have ended the inning.
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After further verification, the call was reversed and it was determined that Sanchez had been disrupting Merrifield.
Baldelli was fired from the dugout after being flagged for a direct altercation with the umpires and was quickly sent off for the eighth time in his career and third this season.
Baldelli was still angry after the game.
The game hasn’t been called more than twice since the replay started. In all baseball games, thousands upon thousands of games and home runs where the catcher actually keeps blocking the plate, the game is almost never called.
“If someone comes up in this situation and decides to block the puck at the end, it’s beyond embarrassing for our game, all the players on both sides of the court are working their asses off the whole game. This is totally unacceptable,” Baldelli said. “I can’t believe I’m sitting here talking to you about this. It was one of the worst moments we’ve ever seen in a game I’ve been in baseball. I find it pathetic.
While it’s easy to see why Baldelli is upset, there’s nothing that can be done now. The Blue Jays walked away with a 3-2 win that officially ended their four-game streak against the Twins.
Baldelli will be fined later this week for his comments.
