If Pittsburgh Pirates fans didn't already approve of Don Kelly, they will now. On Saturday, during only his second game in charge, the new manager got tossed for arguing with the home plate umpire.
The ejection was met with a round of "warm applause," according to Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Don Kelly has been ejected in his second game as a MLB manager
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) May 10, 2025
Absolutely love it. pic.twitter.com/RFKgzMfhE7
That's one way to win over a crowd and a clubhouse.
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Don Kelly earns first ejection in second game managing Pirates
The confrontation sparked because someone in the Pirates dugout was chirping at the home plate umpire, Clint Vondrak.
"I'm not going to listen to it anymore," Vondrak yelled at the Pittsburgh contingent, signaling he was ejecting someone. It wasn't clear exactly who he intended to toss but Kelly made sure it was him. He burst out of the dugout to give Vondrak a piece of his mind.
The Pirates haven't had much reason to show emotion this season. They came into Saturday's game at 13-26, just two games removed from firing manager Derek Shelton. Seeing the new manager show that kind of fire was a breath of fresh air for the fanbase.
Kelly won his first game in charge on Friday with a 3-2 win over the Braves. That ended a seven-game losing skid. Adding another win to the tally on Saturday would require a response from the Pirates after the ejection. They trailed 2-1 at the end of the sixth inning. The Braves opened the scoring in the second with an RBI double before Matt Olson homered in the third. There was a quick response with an RBI single from Joey Bart in the bottom of the frame.