Watch J.T. Realmuto end up on wrong end of ridiculous Spring Training ejection

Phillies catcher JT Realmuto was ejected during Spring Training for the most ridiculous reason as umpire Randy Rosenberg overreacted to a nothing moment.

MLB umpires are often accused of being on power trips. Home plate umpire Randy Rosenberg definitely looked like he was on one during Monday’s Spring Training outing between the Phillies and Blue Jays.

In what might be the most unnecessary ejection in history, Rosenberg tossed catcher JT Realmuto because he didn’t properly collect a ball from the ump.

Here’s how the exchange went down:

As best we can tell, Realmuto held out his glove for a new ball, then happened to retract it as the umpire went to toss it into the glove. Some speculated that he might have seen pitcher Craig Kimbrel already had a ball. There wasn’t any visible sign that the catcher purposely tried to miss the handoff or intended to disrespect the ump in any way.

Opening Day is just around the corner, but this is what will occupy minds in baseball today. The fact that it came after a pitch clock violation for Kimbrel doesn’t make Rob Manfred look any better.

JT Realmuto ejection goes to show MLB umpires are big babies

The umpire decided to escalate a completely meaningless exchange. It was a childish response to a moment that was all in his head. Realmuto did nothing wrong.

Rosenberg made it all about him by making the worst possible interpretation of a moment that should have been completely forgettable. Unfortunately, this kind of silliness happens all too often in MLB games. Rosenberg just put himself on track to be the next Angel Hernandez.

At least this happened in Spring Training. We can all take solace that the ejection isn’t going to have any impact on the standings or the Phillies’ 2023 season.

At the same time, it was a Spring Training game! If an umpire can get away with such an outrageous call like that in Spring Training, imagine what kind of power tripping we might be subjected to during the actual season.