An umpire appeared to eject Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner for the simple act of tossing his equipment to a batboy while disputing a called strike three during Monday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Monday was a rough night for Turner when home plate umpire Will Little called an inning-ending strike on a pitch toward the bottom of the zone in the fifth inning.
Turner wasn’t pleased with the call and voiced his displeasure with Little while shedding his batting equipment in the direction of a team batboy.
“I don’t think the ejection was warranted at all,” Phillies star Bryce Harper told reporters postgame.
That’s when Little tossed Turner from the game further infuriating the Phillies infielder, who tried to argue the ejection.
“If that’s the reason he got thrown out then that’s not a good reason,” one of the Phillies’ broadcasters said while showing the replay.
It was the culmination of a rough night for Turner, who was feeling the heat from the fans.
Turner went 0-for-3 at the plate, including the strikeout to end the fifth, and committed two errors before he was ejected in the Orioles’ 3-2 win.
In the top of the fifth, Turner booted what looked like a possible double-play ball.
The routine ground ball bounced out of Turner’s glove as he tried to make the play eliciting a chorus of boos from the fans at Citizens Bank Park.
The error was Turner’s 12th of the season.
Turner has struggled mightily this year slashing .247/.300/.387 for the Phillies after signing a massive 11-year, $300 million contract in December.
“He is one of the best players in the league for a reason,” Harper said Monday. “He’ll get going. We trust in him to be the best. He’ll do that.”
The issues both at the plate and in the field have started to wear on fans in Philly.
He even drew the ire of the city’s well-known sports station WIP and morning host Joe DeCamara.
“Trea Turner, I’m getting freakin’ sick of this guy,” DeCamara said during Monday’s show. “Do you expect Trea Turner to turn it around this season? Yes or no? Count me as a no. I’ve seen enough to know, I now don’t count on the guy and I’m frickin’ sick and tired of it.
