George Springer lost his cool in a way fans haven’t seen before. With the Blue Jays up 5-0 in the seventh, he disagreed with a couple of strike calls early in his at-bat. Then a back-foot slider clipped—or seemed to clip—his foot. Springer immediately claimed it hit him and trotted to first, but the umpires weren’t convinced. They went to review, but without clear conclusive evidence, the call on the field stood. No hit-by-pitch.
Springer was stunned. He calmly spoke to the home plate umpire at first, but it escalated fast. As the call stood, he erupted. His manager, John Schneider, rushed out to keep him from getting tossed, but he couldn’t stop the ejection. Springer, now furious, argued even harder, saying the ejection was worse than the missed call. He yelled, gestured, and clearly felt robbed.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. deserves credit for stepping in. He got between Springer and the umpire and worked to calm him down, even walking him off the field. Springer was fired up but managed to show some restraint as he reached the dugout. No helmet toss, but plenty of frustration. He looked stunned, angry, and completely convinced the call was wrong. The angle showing the ball’s direction shift after hitting his foot made the ejection sting even more.