Over the past few months, MLB umpiring has come under significant scrutiny. Several calls have been overturned using the ABS, while umpires such as CB Bucknor and Ron Kulpa have continued to draw the ire of fans. The same continued at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday, where the San Francisco Giants were hoping to snap a four-game losing streak but found themselves at the center of another controversial ruling. The calls left the Giants’ broadcasters furious, and now it has prompted a Giants veteran to offer some blunt advice.

“I think they bully him. And he needs to rise above it and get back in their face. I thought he should have pulled the base out of the dirt and thrown it at the head umpire. I really do. It just ticks me off that they do that to him,” Mike Krukow, who played seven seasons for the Giants, said, as per KNBR on X.

During Wednesday’s 5-4 loss against the Kansas City Royals, Tony Vitello was ejected for the third time this season. What lay at the center of this was yet another controversial umpire call. 

In the seventh inning, the Giants had already established a 3-0 lead, and then came Vinnie Pasquantino with a double into the right-field corner off Giants starter Landen Roupp. According to the Giants, Pasquantino was off the bag during his slide into second, and Willy Adames reacted by applying a quick tag. 

However, second base umpire Mike Estabrook dropped a pushing sign, essentially marking that the play was dead. As per the umpire, who had all six of his calls overturned by ABS challenge during a Braves-Diamondbacks matchup, Pasquantino had been pushed off the bag. Obviously, it didn’t sit right with the Giants, and the skipper did what he had to.

He rushed to the field to argue and was told that he couldn’t challenge the umpire’s decision. So, instead, he asked the crew to get together and sort it out, but the original decision was upheld. Frustrated, he started walking towards the dugout, saying, “It was a big call” twice. It was right then that the third-base umpire, Lance Barrett, ejected him.

Seeing this, even the Giants veteran play-by-play announcer Dave Flemming couldn’t hold back his frustration and remarked:

“Oh, that is absurd! And now he is getting tossed out of the game. That’s just a complete and total failure by the umpires. Ridiculous.” 

Even replays of the specific play showed that the Royals’ first baseman was safe when Adames tagged him. Additionally, it didn’t look like a push either. While the Giants had the window to capitalize on their lead, their skipper’s ejection derailed their momentum, and the Royals won by a run. The Giants lost all three games of the series by a margin of a run. 

During the postgame appearance, the 47-year-old stated that he had directed no expletives at the umpires, yet it resulted in his ejection.

“I just asked if it could be corrected,” Vitello told the reporters. “I don’t know what the response was, but I just said it was a big call. Twice, I said it was a big call.”

Just three months ago, in April, Vitello was ejected for the first time in his major league career when the Giants lost to the visiting New York Mets. Interestingly, this too came in the seventh inning after Jerar Encarnacion was ruled out for running inside the designated lane. Vitello tried to explain the situation then, but we all saw how that ended. His second ejection, though, was a little different.

With Brett Sullivan on third and one out, Tyler Mahle pitched from the windup and struck out Mickey Moniak swinging. After Rockies third-base coach Andy González pointed out a potential balk, the umpires conferred and ruled Mahle had failed to declare the windup, allowing Sullivan to score.

Such a play was enough for Vitello to hop onto the field and ask for an explanation from the home plate umpire, Lance Barksdale. What followed was a heated conversation and an ejection.

As of now, the Giants are 42-60 and fourth in the NL West, and since the second half of the season started, they have lost their first two series. Playing the Angels next, one would hope for a better outcome.