Chicago Cubs star Nico Hoerner was on the end of a brutal ejection that has left many fans claiming he was harshly treated by the home plate umpire.
Hoerner was at the plate on Sunday as the Cubs took on the Detroit Tigers on the road, but his afternoon came to an early end when he was judged to have taken his comments a step too far with the ump Derek Thomas.
Marquee Sports Network’s TV cameras have now revealed the full conversation between the player and umpire… so do you think the infielder was harshly treated?
In the clip, the umpire can be seen calling a strike against Hoerner, before the batter turns to him and says: ‘You’re having a really bad day so far.’
Immediately, he is tossed from the game, before questioning: ‘I just said, “you’re having a really bad day so far”?’
He is then joined by his manager Craig Counsell, who defends his player by claiming: ‘What are you doing? That’s nothing. You’ve got to be kidding me!’
Marquee Sports Network’s microphones picked up exactly what Nico Hoerner said to the ump
His ‘really bad day’ comment earned him an immediate ejection from the MLB game
Hoerner queried the decision by repeating what he’d said to umpire Derek Thomas
After the game, Hoerner faced the media and said: ‘Yeah I don’t think it’s really that often that you can verbatim say to the press afterwards what got you thrown out.
‘I said, “you’re having a really bad day”…’ He then followed his comments with a long pause, while reporters can be heard laughing in the background.
The Cubs went on to lose the game 4-0 in Detroit, with Hoerner going 0-2 in his two ABs.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell was incensed by the decision and asked: ‘What are you doing?’
On social media, fans were split by the decision to eject the shortstop from the game, with one backing the umpire to write: ‘Been a rule forever in the game, never start a conversation with an umpire with “You’re”. Doesn’t matter what comes after it.’
Elsewhere, though, others called the decision ‘soft’, with one adding: ‘That ump is such a cry baby.’
A third wrote: ‘Unacceptably soft on a terrible call that changed the outcome of a game. Get him out of here.’
