Randy Arozarena #56 of the Tampa Bay Rays (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Rays have lost three games in a row, and you can tell the frustration is starting to get the best of them and Randy Arozarena.
Home plate umpire Junior Valentine didn’t do the Rays any favors against Reynaldo Lopez and the Chicago White Sox.
In his at-bat against Lopez, Arozarena was ahead in the count 3-1. Then, Lopez dealt a pitch the Tampa Bay slugger assumed was out of the zone. He took one step over the plate before Valentine made him step back into the batters’ box.
After fouling a pitch off to make the count 3-2, Lopez dealt another ball low. Rather than rewarding a now-patient Arozarena a walk, Valentine instead signaled for a strikeout. Arozarena had enough, tossing his bat a mile high in the wrong kind of bat flip.
One bad call is tough enough to deal with. Two in the same AB? Valentine was asking a lot of Arozarena.
Rays: Randy Arozarena tossed for reaction to bad calls
Kevin Cash came out to argue the calls as well, but given that Arozarena had already been thrown out due to Valentine’s short temper, Cash opted not to be the next victim.
An umpire shortage across baseball means articles like these are…not helpful. It’s important for us to stress that most umps, especially those in the major leagues, are tremendous at their jobs.
Please do not treat your 10-year-old kid’s rec league game like the World Series. Mistakes can be made. In this case, though, it cost Arozarena and the Rays.