Brandon Lowe’s first ejection in nine seasons came for yelling not at the umpire, but himself. It was an unusual scene during Saturday’s Pirates vs Twins game. The mess started when an umpire overreacted to the two-time All-Star being frustrated, ejecting him from the game. This happened right after the home plate umpire strangely rejected Lowe’s challenge, earning the fans’ ire.

“Kind of a sad first ejection, I guess, if we’re looking at ejections as a whole,” Brandon Lowe said after the game. 

The Pirates’ second baseman faced a 1-1 pitch from Bailey Ober in the 4th inning. With the Pirates blowing an early 7-1 lead in what would become a tight 10-9 shootout, every pitch mattered to secure the series over Minnesota.

Plate umpire Alex Tosi called it a strike, prompting an immediate tap on the helmet from Lowe. However, the official rejected the challenge, and even the commentators wondered why. Lowe tapped a few times again, assuming Tosi had missed his first signal as he was looking elsewhere. But as it turned out, he rejected the call for ABS because he was late. 

Lowe, arguing, “I did the challenge right away,” was audible over the commentators as they were at a loss for words. 

“He went immediately. And I can’t understand why it would be [late],” they failed to perceive the plate umpire’s logic. According to the MLB rules, a player has to signal for an ABS challenge in roughly two seconds of the umpire’s call. Lowe didn’t even stop to think before tapping his helmet as soon as he heard Tosi call it a strike. 

The ball went well below the strike zone, and it would have been 2-1 instead of 1-2 for the Pirates. That’s why manager Don Kelly came running to the field and started arguing with the umpire. But like Lowe, he wasn’t able to convince Tosi about the challenge. 

Notably, the umpire explained to Kelly that there was some prompting from the Pittsburgh dugout before Lowe touched his helmet. However, his reaction was immediate, making it highly likely that there was an influence from his team.

Shortly after that, Brandon Lowe hit a fly ball on a full count. He immediately understood it was going to be an out in the left and hurled the F-word in frustration. He started running to first base, and as Trevor Larnach caught the ball, Lowe headed towards his dugout. But the team found out that first base umpire Jordan Baker had ejected him. 

Lowe, in his final year of a 6-year, $24 million contract, was in total disbelief after facing his first career ejection. Even the commentators had no idea why Baker threw him out. The Pirates’ first base coach, Tarrik Brock, had to step in and calm Lowe down as Kelly entered to confront Baker. Quite strangely, the crew chief assumed that Lowe was hurling his frustration at the officials. 

“There’s no way you eject a player for that,” announcer Joe Block said during the broadcast.

The manager explained how Lowe was frustrated about hitting a ball four. And the way he reacted to his own swing made Baker think that he was yelling at the plate umpire. 

“Jordan [Baker] did not understand what [Lowe] was saying, and totally overreacted,” Kelly said. “It was a total misunderstanding.” And the loud booing in the PNC Park clearly depicted the fans’ discontent. 

“I was just frustrated with myself, and let out my frustration to myself, and got thrown out for it. I didn’t even realize that I was thrown out,” Brandon Lowe explained after the game. 

The Pirates had to send Tyler Callihan to second base after the rejection. They ultimately won the game 10-9 and secured the series. But the way the umpires mishandled the situations couldn’t escape the loyalists’ wrath. 

MLB fans urge for strict punishment for the umpires

“Lowe challenged immediately after the Umpire made the call. Then the Ump made it about him, f–k that noise. Fine the Umpire, and suspend him for 5 games without pay,” a fan reacted on the clip uploaded by Jomboy Media. 

Whether it was the delay or any influence from the dugout, the fans just refuse to take it as a legitimate call from Alex Tosi. They want accountability from the umpires, and the only way to implement that is through definite penalization. 

And this is not a standalone incident. Earlier in May, umpire Bill Miller denied a challenge from Braves catcher Jonah Heim. He ran to grab the ball and tapped his helmet before the play was dead. But Miller rejected it, calling him late. Such incidents repeating have caused a fan to comment, “MLBUA needs to take a serious look at themselves.”

MLB introduced the ABS challenge system to reduce mistakes from the umpires. But rejecting a challenge takes that option away from a team. 

That’s why another user expressed his frustration, saying, “Umps will be gone completely within 2-3 years. They are the worst they’ve ever been.”

There has been a recurring noise about using ABS for every pitch (irrespective of the call) and incorporating AI and robots in place of human umpires. As of May 31, 1,878 (over 53%) umpire calls have been overturned this season. And according to ESPN, MLB sees approximately 10.88 missed calls from umpires each game. 

“Umpires thinking people came to watch them,” read another comment. 

The frustration increases daily as fans think that the officials are not putting in enough effort. Instead, they are making it more about themselves than the game. Some fans even call these decisions intentional, as if the umpires are trying to avoid any overturning of their calls. And Tosi’s denial of the challenge leans toward that exact point.

“As I said earlier, the unchecked authority given to umpires has to be reined in. Both the missed challenge request and the petty vindictiveness of the 1B ump are an awful look for the league,” a fan echoed the most common noise around the MLB officials. 

There have been numerous events where the umpires had a power trip and either made a totally absurd call or ejected someone without a proper reason. 

The Pirates managed a one-run win here. But if it had gone the other way, it would have been on the umpires. And the entire baseball community is losing its patience with how MLB refuses to implement any consequences for the umpires’ misjudgments.