Umpire Ron Kulpa made himself the center of attention during a heated game involving the Houston Astros. It started with a borderline strike call that sparked immediate protests from the Astros dugout. Instead of deescalating, Kulpa barked back at the players, telling them the pitch was a strike and engaging in a shouting match. Astros manager A.J. Hinch ran out to defend his players, pleading for calm and asking Kulpa not to talk directly to them. Kulpa snapped back, saying he wasn’t talking to Hinch, which led to a tense back-and-forth between the two.
The situation got worse when Kulpa continued to stare into the Astros dugout after calls, clearly baiting more confrontation. At one point, he ejected a player without clearly identifying who it was, just pointing and asking, “Who is he?” before tossing him. Hinch kept trying to act as a buffer, saying he needed to stand up for his team, but Kulpa kept escalating.
Even after the situation seemed to cool, Kulpa stayed locked in on the dugout. The next pitch was called a strike, the bench stayed silent, and still, he turned to glare again. When coaches ran out to intervene, Kulpa told them he could do anything he wanted. The incident made it clear the players weren’t the only ones in a competitive mood. Kulpa’s behavior raised serious questions about professionalism and control behind the plate.