"I would get a restraining order against someone who looked at me like that. Ridiculous, unprofessional" - The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly gives his judgement on Madison Bumgarner ejection, lashes out on the alleged instigator
When first-base umpire Dan Bellino ejected Madison Bumgarner from Wednesday's game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins, fans seemed to be on his side. Twitter erupted with spiteful comments aimed at Bumgarner's alleged immaturity during the event.
Users branded him a "grumpy old man" who was unreasonably upset with Bellino for checking his hands for sticky substances, a mandatory procedure this season.
But there are two sides to every coin and this occasion was no different. Various broadcast angles of the incident began emerging shortly after. One angle was particularly insightful.
It shows Bumgarner with his head down and his left hand outstretched towards Bellino. Bellino feels his way around Bumgarner's fingers, but he's not looking at them. He's staring straight into Bumgarner's eyes.
Andrew Baggarly takes the side of Madison Bumgarner, lashes at Dan Bellino
Writer for "The Athletic" Andrew Baggarly immediately voiced his opinion of the incident on Twitter. Long story short, he wasn't impressed with Dan Bellino.
"I would get a restraining order against someone who looked at me like that," Baggarly wrote.
Take a look for yourself below. Pay close attention to the duration of Bellino's stare and hand-massaging.
I would get a restraining order against someone who looked at me like that. Ridiculous, unprofessional. And who do you think will get fined/suspended after this? twitter.com/BALLYSPORTSAZ/…
"I would get a restraining order against someone who looked at me like that. Ridiculous, unprofessional. And who do you think will get fined/suspended after this?" - @Andrew Baggarly
Baggarly makes a good point. It was a creepy stare. The hand-massaging was, at best, prolonged. Most umpires take half the amount of time Bellino took here to check pitchers for sticky substances. There's no need for it to be a long, drawn-out process. Umpires should be able to tell within a second after touching a pitcher's hand if he's using illegal substances. That stuff is stickier than mashed marshmallows.
Baggarly retweeted another video that helps with getting an idea of how most umpires check pitchers' hands. Watch how long it takes third-base umpire Joe West to check the throwing hand of Marlins pitcher Elieser Hernández. Compare it to the interaction between Bellino and Madison Bumgarner. Notice a difference?
Did Dan Bellino learn nothing from Joe West? You don't stare at Bumgarner. I agree with the announcers. Weird flex from the umpire. He baited Bum for a reaction and he got it. twitter.com/BALLYSPORTSAZ/…
"Did Dan Bellino learn nothing from Joe West? You don't stare at Bumgarner. I agree with the announcers. Weird flex from the umpire. He baited Bum for a reaction and he got it." - @Andrew Baggarly
Joe West never even stopped walking to check Hernández's hand. That's how quickly he did it. The commentators in this clip sum it up best.
"There's no real official protocol for checking the hand of a pitcher, but this is how it always goes: just a look and away you go. Contrast that to [Bellino checking Bumgarner's hand]. Look at Bellino's hands. He's like massaging [Bumgarner's] hand."
Dodgers finally get to Madison Bumgarner, then hang on for win over Diamondbacks latimes.com/sports/dodgers…
It's obvious that Madison Bumgarner had a choice word or two for Bellino right after Bellino finished checking his hand. You can see him say something along the lines of "take your f***ing time." Maybe that was imprudent, but his impatience was understandable. Bellino was wasting Bumgarner's time and unnecessarily baiting him into a confrontation.
Baggarly put it best. It was "ridiculous" and "unprofessional."