Back in an early-season game, Salvador Perez hit a ball that looked like it stayed in the park but was ruled a home run. The ball hit a strange spot in the outfield where a gap exists between the wall line and the foul pole, which confused nearly everyone watching. Despite the odd placement, the umpires stuck to the ground rules and ruled it a homer. Red Sox manager Alex Cora came out to challenge the call, and things got awkward. Umpire Bill Welke misheard what Cora said during the exchange. Cora told him, “I don’t want to get run for this,” but Welke thought he said he did want to get thrown out. So Welke ejected him on the spot.
Neither man realized the mistake immediately. Cora looked stunned and walked back to the dugout trying to explain to his staff what just happened. His expression said it all. Welke even started to look apologetic once he realized the miscommunication. The whole thing boiled down to a confusing ball placement, some muffled words, and a quick trigger from the ump. Cora’s frustration was clear, especially since he didn’t even want to take it that far. It ended up being an accidental and hilarious ejection caused by a simple misunderstanding.