Tensions flared during a recent game when Astros catcher Martín Maldonado and Royals manager Ned Yost were both ejected after arguing balls and strikes. The controversy started when Brad Peacock caught a batter looking on a borderline pitch for strike three. Maldonado immediately challenged the call, saying the ump hadn’t been giving them that outside pitch all night. The ump told him to walk away, but when Maldonado added one more comment, he got tossed.
Yost then came out to defend his catcher and argue the inconsistency in the strike zone. He didn’t focus on that one specific pitch being a strike or ball. Instead, he claimed the same pitch had been called differently depending on which team was throwing it. Yost stayed calm but firm, telling the umpire he just wanted the strike zone called evenly. The ump disagreed and threw him out too.
Replays showed the pitch might have been fair, especially with the catcher setting up way off the plate and catching the ball more over the zone, creating the illusion of a strike. It was a clever move behind the plate, but that wasn’t Yost’s issue. His focus was on what he believed was a pattern of unequal calls that night.