Joe Maddon strategically flipped out on Joe West after Kyle Hendricks lost his no-hit bid
There are ejections, and then there’s the Joe Maddon version.
Kyle Hendricks had taken a no-hitter into the ninth, until Jeremy Hazelbaker took the 96th pitch deep. Well, with no one warming in the bullpen, the Cubs had to kill some time.
It’s not uncommon for catchers and teammates to convene on the mound and “discuss” strategy in the interests of buying time. But then you have home plate umpire Joe West, who put a stop to Maddon’s player directive.
Maddon didn’t take well to it, and exited the dugout flinging F-bombs left and right, all while his closer Aroldis Chapman furiously warmed up in the bullpen. What he was saying wasn’t difficult to decipher. If anyone didn’t see an ejection coming, well, I don’t know what to tell you.
It sure is an interesting way of buying time. Although, the whole bit with West refusing to allow catcher Miguel Montero was a bit odd. As Matt Snyder from CBS Sports pointed out, the game hadn’t even passed the 2 1⁄2-hour mark, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that happen before.
Baseball is weird, folks.
