MLB’s All-Time Top 5 Manager Ejections
Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus had a colorful reaction to being ejected from Monday night’s game. But was it among the best manager tirades the MLB has seen?
After Sunday afternoon’s ugly brawl between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays, baseball returned to normal on Monday. It got back to basics. As in a manager getting ejected from a game and then putting on a show.
During the fourth inning of what turned out to be a 10-8 win over the Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Doug Eddings for arguing balls and strikes. What ensued was a fine piece of theater, complete with some of the most classic moves the game has come to know over the years.
There was a nose-to-nose profanity-laced tirade.
Next came kicking dirt over the plate.
And for a grand finale, Ausmus took off his sweatshirt and covered the dish with it before walking off.
Ausmus was suspended for Tuesday’s game and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball.
That got us thinking about other memorable moments in managers going crazy, so we put together a list of the greatest big league manager ejections of all-time. And apologies to Ausmus, he didn’t even crack the top five.
*Note: some of the videos contained herein have NSFW language.
Next: Which manager tirades cracked the top five?
5. Bobby Valentine
On June 9, 1999, the New York Mets won a 14-inning game against the Toronto Blue Jays, which isn’t very notable. The game will live on in baseball lore, though, due to Valentine’s antics.
After being thrown out of the game for arguing an interference call in the 12th, Valentine disappeared into the Mets’ clubhouse, only to reappear a few minutes later clad in sunglasses and a mustache made of eye black.
The master of disguise routine earned Bobby V a two-game suspension and a $5,000 fine from Major League Baseball.
That season, the Mets finished second in the National League East, but earned the Wild Card, and made a trip to the NLCS after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks. They lost to the eventual NL pennant-winning Atlanta Braves.
Next: No. 4 took a little something with him.
4. Lloyd McClendon
McClendon proved that any base can be stolen after being ejected from a game on June 26, 2001. Then the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, McClendon left the dugout in the seventh inning of a game with the Milwaukee Brewers to argue a close play at first base.
After being tossed by first base umpire, McClendon threw his cap, got nose-to-nose with some choice words, and kicked dirt on the bag. But he wasn’t finished. The Bucs skipper picked up first base, put it under his arm, and walked off the field to the cheers of the hometown crowd.
In the time since, McClendon has had other incidents, notably a 2004 confrontation with St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, and a good round of hat-kicking in 2015 as manager of the Seattle Mariners.
Next: A sweet hothead comes in at No. 3
3. Lou Piniella
There are so many moments much to choose from when it comes to Sweet Lou. Piniella was ejected from 63 games during his managerial career with the New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago Cubs.
The tirade we’ve chosen was his first as the skipper of the Cubs in June 2007. It includes what has become known as his signature move: kicking his cap all over the field. The crowd at Wrigley Field joins in, throwing their own hats and assorted trash onto the field and forcing the grounds crew out to clean up.
Piniella also may have been the inspiration behind McClendon’s steal of first base. After being ejected from a game against the San Francisco Giants as manager of the Reds in August 1990, he ripped first base out of the ground and threw it into right field. What really makes it memorable is that Piniella then retrieved the base and threw it again.
Next: The second-greatest tirade is a classic
2. Earl Weaver
Weaver is the third-most ejected manager in the history of the big leagues, getting run 94 times in his 17-year managerial career. The World Series-winning skipper of the Baltimore Orioles was even thrown out of both games of a doubleheader on three separate occasions and before a game started twice.
Perhaps Weaver’s most famous ejection tirade, and certainly among the funniest pieces of baseball theater there is, came in September 1980 against the Detroit Tigers. After pitcher Mike Flanagan was called for a balk by first base umpire Bill Haller, one of the most epic toe-to-toe arguments in baseball history took place, which also happened to be recorded by a microphone Haller was wearing as part of the filming of a documentary.
It really just needs to be seen to be fully appreciated, so we’ll leave you to it.
Next: Which manager comes in at No. 1?
1. Whitey Herzog
Herzog gets the top spot due to the magnitude of the situation in which he was ejected. While there is no video of just the ejection readily available, this was Game 7 of the 1985 World Series between his St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals, a game the Royals went on to win to claim their first World Championship.
In the fifth inning, Cardinals pitcher Joaquin Andujar was arguing Don Denkinger’s strike zone, and Herzog came out of the dugout to berate the home plate umpire. Tension had boiled over from a missed call in Game 6, and Herzog is said to have screamed, “”We wouldn’t even be here if you hadn’t missed the f***ing call last night!”
After the Royals claimed the 11-0 win in Game 7, Herzog alleged a conspiracy among the umpires, saying they were “prejudiced” against the National League. It still remains that Herzog is the only manager to have ever been thrown out of Game 7 of a World Series.
If you want to watch the entire game, here is the video:
Next: Bonus time: the greatest manager ejection ever?
Bonus: Phillip Wellman
In what can only be described as the greatest manager meltdown of all-time, Wellman, skipper of the Mississippi Braves, put on a performance for the ages after being ejected from a game in 2007.
After his pitcher was tossed for using an illegal substance on the ball, Wellman went through the old favorite of kicking dirt on the plate and drawing a larger plate around it, and pulling up bases and throwing them on the field, but then things got special.
Wellman, who today serves as manager of the San Diego Padres’ double-A affiliate, got down on the ground and army crawled, using the rosin bag as a make-believe hand grenade, biting the clip out and hurling it in the umpires’ direction.
Next: Rougned Odor has no regrets about punching Jose Bautista
He exited the field by blowing a kiss and became an instant celebrity as the clip was broadcast on sports shows across the country. A three-game suspension from the Braves front office ensued, but we think we speak for baseball fans everywhere when we say it was well worth it.