Umpire Mark Wegner afforded Jazz Chisholm plenty of rope, and the Yankees’ infielder just wouldn’t stop.
YES announcer Michael Kay ripped Chisholm for his extended “chirping” at the home plate umpire following a bad call in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to the Reds in 11 innings that led to Chisholm being ejected in the bottom of the frame.
“Jazz Chisholm just got thrown out and really he has nobody to blame but himself,” Kay said after Chisholm’s ejection. “I know he didn’t like the call, but he has been chirping at (Mark) Wegner. Aaron Judge, between innings, walked him out to the field to try to calm him down and he would not stop screaming at Wegner about the 2-0 pitch.
“You always tell me, Paul (O’Neill), heat of the moment, but this is far after the heat of the moment. He got himself thrown out and Wegner gave him a lot of leash.”
Jazz Chisholm being held back by Aaron Boone.AP
Chisholm lost his cool in a 3-3 game with a man on first and one out after Wegner called a low 2-0 offering a strike, changing the entire complexion of the at-bat.
The infielder turned away from the plate thinking he had gone ahead on the count, 3-0, only to be stunned that the pitch had been ruled a strike.
Chisholm vented for a long time about the call.AP
Chisholm said he told Wegner, “That was not a strike,” before fouling off the 2-1 offering and then striking out on a 2-2 fastball. The Yankees ultimately stranded the leadoff runner.
Kay said he watched Chisholm between the top and bottom of the inning and noticed how he kept saying, “It wasn’t even close,” while he warmed up at third base.
Chisholm claimed he was talking to himself in an attempt to calm down when he saw Wegner staring at him, which prompted him to ask, “Why are you looking at me?”
He then received the boot, and he had to be restrained by manager Aaron Boone while he voiced his displeasure.
Pitch 3 was ruled a strike to make it a 2-1 count instead of 3-0, and Chisholm ultimately struck out.MLB.com
“Everybody knows how I am: If I’m going to go at an umpire, I’m going to go at an umpire,” said Chisholm, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored. “I’m not going to hide it, none of that. If I wanted to say something to him, I would have said it. Nobody’s going to stop me from saying something to an umpire if I want to. I’m a grown man. So for me not even to say nothing to you, and me to ask you why you’re looking at me and you toss me, I feel like there’s a problem.
“I feel like it’s getting ridiculous now.”
Yankees announcer Michael Kay.AP
Kay — who agreed that Wegner missed the call — also chastised the timing of the maneuver since the Yankees had to replace Chisholm in the lineup with DJ LeMahieu and shift Oswaldo Peraza to third base.
Chisholm’s spot came around in the top of the 11th, and LeMahieu popped out with the Yankees leading, 4-3. The Reds scored two in the bottom half of the inning to make it two straight wins against the Yankees, who have dropped nine of their past 12 games.
Mark Leiter Jr. allowed two runs in the bottom of the inning to send the Yankees to their ninth loss in the past 12 games. They are now 1-6 in extra-inning games.
“But you did have some time to cool off and he took it out to the field and he got thrown out,” Kay said.
Boone said he wished Chisholm had let him do the talking.
“I don’t want him getting tossed there,” Boone said. “I want me to get tossed there in those situations.”
