Manny Machado vs Umpire Bill Welke
Manny Machado was suspended Monday for one game after being called out on strikes last Saturday night in Colorado by home plate umpire Bill Welke. Manny got right in Welke’s face and gave him an earful. He was ejected prior to the confrontation. Machado fired his bat from the home plate area into the brick wall behind the plate. This was unnecessary and very disappointing. His suspension was for aggressively arguing and making contact with the umpire.
The MLB and umpires have gotten so soft it’s unbelievable. I have great respect for umpires and officials at all levels in all the different sports. My father umpired high school and college baseball for 13 years, and I umpired at a variety of different levels during the summer when I was coaching in high school and college, and I loved every minute of it. It’s not an easy job, and with cameras on every play now, it’s even tougher.
With all that being said, my biggest issue with MLB umpires is accountability. They seem to do whatever they want to with zero repercussions, and it's not right. Machado did argue aggressively, but guess what, that happens in baseball and it always will! From the angles I saw, Machado made barely, if any, contact with Welke and it certainly wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t like he went up and bumped him and knocked him off balance. Andy Green and pitcher Matt Strahm were ejected by Welke in the 6th inning because he said they were still disputing ball and strike calls.
The Major League Umpires Association sent out a social media post stating they were not happy with Major League Baseball for only handing down a one-game suspension. Machado has appealed the suspension and in my opinion, it should be rescinded and only a fine issued. Lucky for these umpires that Earl Weaver and Billy Martin aren’t managing in the game today.
Anaheim Ducks get a great guy:
Hard work pays off and the new head coach of the Anaheim Ducks Dallas Eakins is a prime example of that. After a very rough stretch as the Edmonton Oilers head coach, he was fired not quite halfway into his second season. Dallas was given an opportunity to become the head coach of the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League, which is the top affiliate of Anaheim. In four seasons in San Diego, his teams won, and they always played hard for him. The fans loved the product. Dallas Eakins definitely earned a second chance to be an NHL head coach, and we wish him the very best.
Have a great week, Coach Kentera