Umpire Paul Nauert Makes Contact With Torii Hunter During Bench-Clearing Mess [GIF]

Being an official in any sport at any level is not an easy task and definitely a thankless one. You can never make everyone happy, someone will always be mad at you, and you are expected to keep the peace among a collection of hyper-competitive, very athletic players.

They don't make it easy--but does that mean you need to slap/tap them in the face? Torii Hunter would say no!

via Twitter

After getting hit by Bud Norris it is easy to see why Torii Hunter would be a little mad, but in the process of trying to keep the peace the umpire decided to touch him on the face (as if to redirect Hunter's attention on him).

It doesn't appear to be hard or with any force, yet it angered Hunter even more.

As ridiculous as every baseball fight is Hunter is in the right here. It is inappropriate for an official to do something like that just like it is against the rules for players to. The ump may be dealing with someone acting like a child, but that doesn't make it okay.

At the least expect to hear an apology for 'inappropriate behavior' in the near future.

[CBSSports]

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