Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt considers his ejection in the third inning of the Nationals 14-4 win Monday as a misunderstanding.Oswalt said he was upset with himself during Josh Willingham's at-bat with one out in the third inning when home plate umpire Bill Hohn thought Oswalt's anger was directed at him and sent Oswalt to the locker room.
"Got thrown out of the game for saying 'not talking to you,'" Oswalt said to the media after the game. "Never done that before.
"I was actually upset I missed with a pitch a little bit off the plate and was actually talking to myself on the mound. I wasn't even looking toward his way when I turned around and he's pointing at me saying something about you are going to keep your mouth shut or something. I couldn't really tell what he said and I told him I wasn't talking to him and he kept on talking so I told him again I wasn't talking to him and he threw me out."
Home plate umpire Bill Hohn was not available for comment, but first base umpire Gary Darling, the crew chief, spoke on behalf of Hohn in an interview with FOX 26 Sports.
"He got ejected for showing up the plate umpire," Darling said.
It was pointed out to Darling that Oswalt explained to the media that none of his frustration was directed at Hohn.
"He came off the mound, pointed at (Hohn) with his glove, and got ejected," Darling said.
― Andy K, Tuesday, 1 June 2010 13:55 (thirteen years ago) link