It’s the maddest Pirates manager Derek Shelton has been in his four years in Pittsburgh.
He was ejected last Wednesday in Tampa during a game against the Rays in the top of the fourth inning arguing about the pitch clock and a no-call on a balk.
After Ji Hwan Bae singled on a bunt, Shelton thought the 30-second timer should’ve been going, but was stopped when Austin Hedges walked to home plate.
Shelton got into an agreement with third base umpire Adrian Johnson and home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott and was tossed.
He ran out on to the field, throwing expletives before leaving the field.
“I got my money’s worth on this one,” said Shelton. “It’s probably the maddest I’ve been in the four years here.”
WARNING: Contains a lot of adult language
Asked if he regrets taking his argument personal, Shelton said he did but he was also getting “talked to in a certain way also . . . I felt like it kind of went both ways in that situation and that was frustrated me and then I did not appreciate being touched on the way out, because you know I can’t touch and umpire.”
The next day, Shelton had to bite his tongue as he watched another game of questionable calls.
While he says he is concerned that umpires can retaliate the next day, he believes it was an isolated incident.
Andrew McCutchen spoke out on the, frankly bad, strike zone and Shelton says he thinks Cutch handled it well, knowing if he spoke up again, he’d be thrown out for a second straight day.