Phillies' J.T. Realmuto Discusses 'Soft' Ejection by Umpire Randy Rosenberg
Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto had some words about umpire Randy Rosenberg's decision to eject him from Monday's spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Speaking to Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer after the Phillies' 5-2 victory, Realmuto called it a "soft way" to get tossed from a game.
The ejection occurred in the bottom of the fourth inning with the Blue Jays at the plate. Phillies reliever Craig Kimbrel wanted a new ball after receiving a pitch-clock violation.
Realmuto initially reached his glove up to grab the ball, but he thought Rosenberg threw one to Kimbrel and moved his glove down at the exact moment the ump was trying to put the ball in his glove. The ball hit the ground and Rosenberg tossed Realmuto from the game.
The Phillies catcher told Hayes he had no idea Rosenberg was trying to give him a ball because he was "not even looking at him."
"I said, 'Dude, I thought you were throwing the ball,'" Realmuto explained. "He said, 'I'm not gonna buy that.'"
Crew chief Dan Iassogna, who was around second base at the time of the incident, told Hayes he didn't think Rosenberg acted hastily: "I believe Randy felt like the situation warranted an ejection, and that's what he did."
Iassogna went on to say "from where I was" he thought something "definitely" happened between Rosenberg and either Realmuto or Kimbrel that prompted the ejection, but he couldn't tell what it was.
"He didn't say that he said anything," Iassogna said of Realmuto, "but he didn't tell me he didn't say anything."
According to Iassogna, Rosenberg's primary job is as a Triple-A umpire but he's also a "call-up umpire" for MLB games in spring training and the regular season. Rosenberg was not made available for comment after the game.
Heading into his 10th MLB season, Realmuto has played 1,022 career games between the regular season and playoffs. Monday marked the first time he's been ejected in his big-league career.
