It notably takes a lot for Giants manager Gabe Kapler to get ejected from a ballgame. He rarely feels the need to get into heated exchanges with umpires, claiming that most ejections are just for show.
But on Thursday, umpire Phil Cuzzi clearly struck a nerve with Kapler. And you know what — Kapler had every right to be upset.
In the middle of the sixth inning, Giants pitcher Jarlin García had an exchange with Mookie Betts and the Dodgers when he mimicked the Dodgers’ dugout celebration. Cuzzi saw that and followed Garcia to the dugout to lecture the pitcher about sportsmanship.
That was when Kapler intervened.
A fiery Gabe Kapler was ejected following Jarlin García's exchange with Mookie Betts to end the top of the sixth inning 😮 pic.twitter.com/nTdngYWJCw
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 4, 2022
Kapler was ejected — the first time as Giants manager — during his fiery argument, but really, the whole sequence came back to Cuzzi. There’s no reason for a big-league umpire to go to a dugout and give a Ted Talk about unwritten rules. Betts may have taken issue with the celebration (especially given the score at the time with the Dodgers leading), but it’s a rivalry game and not Cuzzi’s job to police celebrations on the Dodgers’ behalf.
No wonder MLB fans appreciated Kapler standing up for his pitcher. Cuzzi crossed the line.
This was how Twitter reacted
Not really sure why Jarlin Garcia is mocking the Dodgers right now, but shoutout to Phil Cuzzi for chasing Kapler down and instigating another ejection. What a joke https://t.co/E9jA5caJIr
— Logan Brown (@3brownn3) August 4, 2022
PHIL CUZZI DESERVED IT. LFG MY MAN https://t.co/vkJVW17SeS
— justin ⚾️ (@jdotold) August 4, 2022
phil cuzzi woke the bear https://t.co/9DTYHiE5p4
— Bill Hanstock (@sundownmotel) August 4, 2022
so the ump followed Gabe to the dugout and Gabe gets thrown out of the game, ok https://t.co/xiZUo9PxzB
— sean (@seanyouidiot) August 4, 2022
Did the umpire try to make him eat cake in the dugout? https://t.co/E3hhv1GIk4
— Brandon Wile (@Brandon_N_Wile) August 4, 2022
Must have been pretty bad if Gabe went off like this. Did the ump tell him to eat some carbs? https://t.co/Gm0KzH03eI
— Natto (@natt0) August 4, 2022
Wow, Gabe’s as mad as I am every time I’ve watched the Giants this season https://t.co/N507bN55mb
— norman (@NormanQ) August 4, 2022
25 game winning streak, here we come https://t.co/DnTFWNiQOX
— Ben ⚾️ (@benlikesgiants) August 4, 2022
Kapler can take on the whole umpiring crew. I would pay money for that https://t.co/8ZC35HEEHG
— Anthony (@_AACruz) August 4, 2022
Also credit to Kapler: For his first Giants ejection, he certainly got the most out of it.
