Monday’s spring training game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies featured one of the weirdest moments of MLB exhibition play.
Now, we can say we have seen it all on a baseball field, or at least almost everything.
Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto was ejected from the game after this:
J.T. Realmuto got ejected for this 🤣
(via @timandfriends)
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 27, 2023
He showed his mitt to the umpire, like he was asking for a new ball to continue play.
However, he must have thought that the umpire gave the ball to him, because he retrieved his hand and looked at his mitt.
At that time, the umpire was already tossing him because he thought Realmuto was playing a joke on him.
It’s the only explanation we can come up with.
The All-Star catcher and manager Rob Thomson tried to argue with the umpire to point out that everything was just an unfortunate accident, to no avail.
Frankly, we don’t know what to say about what happened.
Even if it was a joke and he didn’t like it, he could have just given him a verbal warning.
But no: he left the Phillies without their top catcher.
It’s a good thing that this happened in spring training, because repercussions could have been greater had it been a regular season game.
Professional sports, and baseball, always show us bizarre moments like this.
That’s what keeps our ability to be surprised alive.
It was an unfair ejection, and one can’t help but feel bad for Realmuto, one of the classiest guys in baseball.
NEXT: Phillies President Comments On The Rhys Hoskins Injury
