Umpire that Ejected Bryce Harper Says He Was Being Nice

For the second time in his career Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper was ejected from a game. Some have said that it wasn't necessary and that the third base ump that tossed him, John Hirschbeck, was the aggressor in the whole sordid affair.

He has a different story to tell. If you ask him, he says he was being nice and should have tossed Harper before he threw his helmet.

“I didn’t like that he put his hands up with the bat,” Hirschbeck said. “That’s kind of what I yelled at him. He continued and threw his bat. I kind of pointed like, ‘That’s equipment.’ And then, he still continued and slammed his helmet down. That’s when I ejected him.

“I was actually just being nice. Even the hands up in the air is showing me up, to me. I could have ejected him right then. I was nice enough to leave him in the game. And then he slammed his bat down. And then on top of that, he slammed his helmet. I had no other recourse, really.”

Personally I think this trend of umpires and referees explaining their calls after the game is ridiculous. they make the calls and they need to stick to them--end of story.

Too often these guys are apologizing for making calls certain ways. While they make think that full disclosure is good, I think verifying how flawed calls are takes away from the game. it just encourages people to question and doubt calls rather than just enjoy the game.

In this case he's sticking to his guns so no harm no foul.