Baseball ejections may seem arbitrary at times, but there is a method behind the madness. There are certain rules, such as arguing balls and strikes, that result in an automatic ejection. However, there is also a fine line that players and managers can walk with umpires to argue in a respectful manner.
Former MLB umpire Fieldin Culbreth joined Ron Darling and Jimmy Rollins on the latest episode of Audacy’s Unwritten: Behind Baseball's Secret Rules podcast to discuss the art of umpiring and what players can and, more importantly, can’t say.
“It’s really cut and dry. As long as you’re just arguing the pitch and you’re saying that you think I’m wrong and it’s this -- you can use the foulest language in the world and that doesn’t matter,” Culbreth said. (30:30 in player above).
“It’s baseball. And it’s grown men playing baseball. We’re not in church. We’re on a baseball field. So you can say whatever you wanna say about that pitch, that call, that anything. It’s when you direct it and get personal. Typically, it’s when you put the word you in front of it. Unless you’re saying ‘You are really good,’” he laughed.
“Anything shy of that, when you put you in it, I can ensure you, you have the word following that automatically is about to cross the line. You’re about to say you are this. You are that. You are whatever. Your mother is whatever,” Culbreth continued.
Arguing a pitch or play is fine to a certain extent, Culbreth said. But if it gets to the point where a player just won’t leave and the game has to move on, he’ll eject them after a warning.
“The other part is just when you put you in front if it and the word that follows. If it’s vulgar or personal, you’re going to be ejected every time.”
“So, 'that’s horses--t' as opposed to 'you’re horses--t',” Darling interjected.
“You can ‘that’s horses--t’ all day long. When I go home from Myrtle Beach to my house, I’m going to get that’s horses--t – I’m gonna get ‘You’re horses--t,’ too, from my wife. She will tell me that’s horses--t all day long. And that’s okay. And that’s okay on the field. When you, you’re gets in front of it – Think about it guys. If you just kinda put yourself in my shoes, or even just switched it. If I said that to you, I guarantee you that wouldn’t fly. It would not fly even a little bit. Even if I just said ‘Jimmy, that was a bad at bat,’ that wouldn’t fly. But if I said ‘You’re a horses--t hitter,’ oh my goodness.
“We got something to talk about,” Rollins chimed in.
Culbreth umpired from 1993 to 2021 in both leagues and was promoted to crew chief for the 2013 season. He umpired three World Series, including Rollins' Phillies winning it all in 2008.
“That’s the only thing. Like I said, you talk about the play, we can talk about that up until the point where we just gotta get it moving again,” Culbreth said. “But when you put the personal part into it, the conversation’s over. ‘Cause you, and face it, we’re all grown men out there and we’ve all gotta be somewhat in control and responsible for ourselves and what we say and do.”
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