MLB investigating Umpire Rob Drake’s Tweets

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the league is investigating recent violent tweets by veteran MLB umpire Rob Drake.

50-year-old veteran umpire Rob Drake is currently under investigation by the MLB after tweeting a series of tweets on Tuesday night.

In since-deleted Tweets, Drake said that he would purchase a AK-47 assault rifle “because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!! #MAGA2020”.

In another Tweet, “You can’t do an impeachment inquiry from the basement of Capitol Hill without even a vote! What is going on in this country?”.

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After ESPN’s Jeff Passan published a story regarding the tweets, Rob Drake has since deactivated his Twitter account that was under the handle @TheDrake30.

Attempts to contact Drake for comment by ESPN were not immediately made available.

Before he deactivated his Twitter account, reports say his Twitter account was filled with political tweets dating years back. However, the league was just made aware of some of the violent tweets that the 50-year-old umpire tweeted.

Joe West, the president of the MLB Umpire Associated and veteran crew chief, who has also recently come under fire for an entirely different reason, was reached for comment by several outlets and declined comment pending further investigation.

Debuting as a major league umpire in 1999, Rob Drake has not worked a postseason game since 2015. He previously worked the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the 2013 All-Star Game, the 2012-13 Wild Card games, the 2010 and 2014 Division Series, and the 2012-13 and ’15 championship series.

Although he has been a major league umpire since 1999, he has not been promoted to crew chief.

It’s currently unclear whether his recent tweets and the investigation will negatively impact his job in the 2020 season.

MLB is expected to conclude their investigation within the upcoming days.