Every player wants a manager who has their back — even when they’re wrong. Think the opposite of the St. Louis Cardinals and Oli Marmol.
On Wednesday, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch certainly showed the willingness to defend his players. And we heard it too.
During the fourth inning of Detroit’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Eric Haase was called out on strikes by home plate umpire Nic Lentz. Haase was visibly upset about the call and turned to have some words with Lentz. The pitch, though, definitely appeared to catch the outside corner, but Hinch was more than ready to defend Haase’s honor there.
"You made it about you."
The mics picked up pretty much everything during Tigers manager A.J. Hinch's ejection today. pic.twitter.com/yoMPSdVpS2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 17, 2023
I love how microphones picked up Lentz saying, “I’m not perfect out here. You know I’m not.” If only there was some sort of automated strike zone technology that could make umpires perfect out there …
But really, Hinch let Lentz know why he was upset and told the umpire, “You made it about you.” As the argument escalated, the Tigers’ announcing crew decided to speak over the discussion for no reason. Still, it made for a quality exchange, and fans enjoyed hearing parts of what led to the ejection.
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This was how Twitter reacted
Man do I love AJ! https://t.co/gLgJLYYN1V
— Matt Thomas (@SportsMT) May 17, 2023
I love baseball ejections so much https://t.co/V8kaTGBzQO
— Jeremy Branham (@JeremyBranham) May 17, 2023
Yup, went to a baseball game and an Ump Show broke out https://t.co/guV1wiDC9B
— Mark Kunz (@MarkAKunz) May 17, 2023
Man you’re getting quality audio and you just talk right over it 🤦♂️ https://t.co/fbv8IxKeu1
— Michael Borkey (@MichaelBorkey) May 17, 2023
Umpires are incredibly soft https://t.co/CQbK3jvaDV
— Shane Price (@priceisright53) May 17, 2023
He's got a point. Most umps do it all the time. https://t.co/e3jAa0xpmW
— 💙 💛 ⚾️ Brooke (fan account) 🏀 (@_Brooke22) May 17, 2023
I mean it was a strike, Haase is just bad. Maybe this is the AJ ejection we’ve been waiting for that keeps the fire going for the team. Maybe it slows them back dow again https://t.co/LakvGZ8oRZ
— Mort (Nick Maton Fan) (@amort9924) May 17, 2023
An officiating issue at every level of every sport https://t.co/XoIMIL6WCr
— The Commish (@Scootsie2xDay69) May 17, 2023
Idk if it's just me, but the mics are especially hot today.
I noticed it thanks to Rich Hill's weird grunting. https://t.co/LHyejBrhK0
— Zach Clark (@ZachEClark) May 17, 2023
