Nico Hoerner got tossed from a game for saying, “You’re having a really bad day so far” to the home plate umpire. He said it calmly, not yelling or being aggressive. But because he used the word “you,” it crossed the line according to the unwritten rules between players and umpires. Once you make it personal, you’re at risk of an ejection, no matter the tone. The ump wasted no time. He responded with, “Your day just ended,” and threw Hoerner out on the spot.
Manager Craig Counsell came out heated, defending his player and arguing that the ejection was too quick and uncalled for. He kept repeating that Hoerner didn’t say anything disrespectful and questioned why a mild comment would lead to a player getting tossed. The crowd got behind Hoerner as he left, cheering in support.
To be fair, Hoerner had a point. The umpire had made a handful of missed calls, and two of them were against him. On pitches he didn’t swing at, he saw two clear mistakes. The call that sparked the comment was another miss. So from Hoerner’s view, the ump was having a rough day. Still, he made the mistake of making it personal, and that got him ejected. It raises the question of how players can express frustration without crossing that line. Maybe “Tough game so far” works, but once “you” enters the sentence, it seems all bets are off.