Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon is known for his jovial personality and his calm demeanor in the dugout, but in a confrontation with umpire Joe West on Monday night, the skipper displayed a different side of his personality.
The incident occurred in the ninth inning of the Cubs’ 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Kyle Hendricks had just surrendered a home run that broke up his no-hitter attempt, and the Cubs were looking to give Aroldis Chapman more time to warm-up in the bullpen to replace him. When the Cubs’ infield went to the mound to talk to Hendricks, West declared that the meeting would count as a mound visit, and that’s when Maddon lost his cool.
The Cubs’ manager was ejected after a brief argument with West, and after the game, the skipper was visibly upset.
“We needed a little bit more time to get the pitcher ready based on the situation and I needed the catcher to go out to the mound. That’s all. That’s it,” he told media after the game. “We were denied and I didn’t like that. So I made my stand. I truly believe we were proper in that.”
After West, who has a reputation for throwing out players and managers for seemingly minor infractions, ejected Maddon, former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood retweeted several fans and media personalities who were critical of the umpire. Wood also added one final zinger into the mix as well, saying that "we all know he sucks": [[393290941, C]]
The occasion marked the third time that Maddon has been ejected from a game this season, but after he was tossed, the manager made sure to get his money’s worth.
“By that time I was a little bit out of breath and I’m not even supposed to go out there because I’d been kicked out already,” he said. “So (first base umpire) Andy (Fletcher) came out. I knew that. It’s not gonna stop me from walking out there. It was inappropriate what had happened out there so I was not going to be very honorable at that moment. It was inappropriate.”
Chicago Baseball
It’s unclear if any discipline will be forthcoming from MLB around the incident, but the ejection didn’t seem to hurt the Cubs. Chapman came into the game and got the save, dropping the Cubs’ magic number in the Central Division to three.
