NewsGonzalez ejected during wild ninth inning
Marlins skipper tossed for arguing balls and strikes
By David Villavicencio / MLB.com
09/23/09 11:52 PM ET
MIAMI -- Brett Carroll capped a wild ninth inning in Wednesday's 7-6 Marlins win over the Phillies when he delivered a game-winning pinch-hit single with two outs off closer Brad Lidge, but things had already gotten crazy a few minutes earlier.Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez was ejected by home-plate umpire Sam Holbrook after Gonzalez argued a strike three call that retired pinch-hitter John Baker. After the game, Florida's skipper was brief in explaining his confrontation with Holbrook.
"You can't argue balls and strikes," Gonzalez said. "Some umpires give you a little more leeway than others, but the bottom line is you can't argue balls and strikes."
Baker argued the call with Holbrook as well but was not ejected. The 28-year-old believes he and his manager let their frustration get the best of them.
"Obviously, I disagreed with strike three, there is no secret about that," Baker said. "I think we were frustrated. As a team, from the beginning of the game, there was a close pitch to Ryan Howard that I think the dugout was frustrated about. That's baseball. Coming back from stuff like that to win this game, especially after how the first game of the doubleheader went, it is just a testament to the heart of this team."
As a catcher, Baker knows what it's like to view the game from a similar point of view to the umpires, and he is just happy the team was able to come back and beat the Phillies.
"You can say all you want about the umpiring and everything, but I don't think it is a large part of the game," Baker said. "I've definitely had pitches that I thought were strikes called balls when I was hitting. Umpires are human beings. It's frustrating when you're batting, obviously, but it's part of baseball. The coolest thing was we came back and won the game."
David Villavicencio is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
