Byron Buxton Ejected from Rehab Game in St. Paul

[Seth Stohs]

That's not something you see every day. I wonder how often an MLB rehabber has been ejected in a minor-league game? Can anyone remember if Buxton has ever been ejected from a game with the Twins? 

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

Twins All Star outfielder Byron Buxton played in his second rehab game with the Saints after missing time with a hip injury. The hope was for him to play seven innings in center field as he did on Monday. 

Unfortunately, he only played three innings in center field because after striking out to end the bottom of the third frame, Buxton was ejected by a Triple-A umpire trying to make a name for himself. 

Sure, we'll mention the umpire's name. Willie Traynor was the home plate umpire in this game and felt the need to ejected Buxton in the third inning. 

So, what happened?

Following a 1-1 pitch, Buxton used his one time out. Inexplicably, the umpire didn't have the time clock reset and when it dropped to zero, he called a pitch clock violation on Buxton which made the count 1-2. 

Obviously when a hitter uses his one opportunity to step out, the clock is to be stopped and reset. The batter gets a little bit of time, and then the umpire gets the clock going again. from the video below, it's clear that something wasn't reset, and the umpire decided not to use common sense. 

From a purely baseball perspective, the difference between a 1-1 pitch and a 1-2 pitch is huge. Buxton went on to foul off a pitch before he struck out on a fastball just above the zone. 

As he set his bat and batting gloves down, Buxton continued the conversation with Traynor. Saints manager Toby Gardenhire ran down from the third base coach's box to get in between. As Buxton walked away, Traynor ejected him. 

What does this mean? 

Ultimately nothing. He'll probably have to pay a couple hundred dollars to the International League. He possibly missed out on two more plate appearances and four or five innings in the outfield. Not a big deal. Presumably he'll play in one more game with the Saints before rejoining the Twins, assuming everything checks out on Thursday morning. 

And to answer the question from above. No, Byron Buxton has never been ejected in the big leagues. He is ultra-competitive and yet keeps his cool very well, including in this example. 

 

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[Otwins]

Can't make this stuff up and have a better story. Crazy

[RpR]

Buxton was a big boy acting like a little boy.

 

[Fat Calvin]

We need that fire on the Big club.

[tony&rodney]

Send Buxton to Kansas City tomorrow and let him watch a little blues at one of their fine music venues tomorrow night. I watched the game and Buck didn't look too hot. 

[JD-TWINS]

36 minutes ago, RpR said:

Buxton was a big boy acting like a little boy.

 

It appeared the ump, after a clear procedural issue with the clock was the one who lacked maturity. One doesn’t toss a guy when the player is walking away and maybe 10 feet away when thrown out.

[Doctor Gast]

So much for the human element! Is this how we want the game controlled? The human element is flawed, a game that is hung in the balanced by millimeters & seconds, the human error should be minimized not glamorized, Buxton acted correctly by respectfully confronting the error & then walked away. The umpire did not 

[MMMordabito]

Asking that people do their jobs correctly is a thing of the past. That umpire was a victim.

[Craig Arko]

4 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

So much for the human element! Is this how we want the game controlled? The human element is flawed, a game that is hung in the balanced by millimeters & seconds, the human error should be minimized not glamorized, Buxton acted correctly by respectfully confronting the error & then walked away. The umpire did not 

Be careful what you wish for.

[TopGunn#22]

Yeah, I don't remember Buxton ever getting ejected in an MLB game.  maybe he has, but I don't recall it.  This is unfortunate and I think this young umpire will find this is making the "wrong" name for himself.  

The better question is how much will Buxton and ultimately, Correa, help us when they make it back?  Games like last night are becoming far too common with young pitchers getting shelled and the Twins falling hopelessly behind.  

The Twins seem to be insistent on Varland remaining a SP.  How much more evidence do they need that he's a 1 to 2 inning pitcher??  He belongs in the bullpen where he could have a positive impact.  Some would call this "patience."  I call it "stubbornness" that is detrimental to the team AND the the player (Varland).  Sure he's more valuable as a SP...IF HE'S EFFECTIVE.  As a SP it's clear to me that he lacks the command of the necessary repertoire to ever be an "effective" SP.  In a one or two inning bullpen appearance??  He can be "effective."  He's got a 98 mph fastball and a slider that breaks occasionally.  THAT'S a BULPEN GUY.  

Whether this is a miscalculation by the front office or manager is unclear to me.  But it's clearly trying to jam a square peg in a round hole by somebody and it could cost the Twins a playoff berth.  

[chaderic20]

It would be good to see whether or not the umpire actually granted time. Video I've seen doesn't show the umpire, but Buck clearly is under the impression he's been granted time, but it's possible he's mistaken. Also, isn't arguing a pitch-click violation an automatic ejection? If both those things are true, he wasn't actually granted time and arguing violations is an auto ejection, then the ump is right. Could have handled it better, but still right.

Now, if either of those things is not true, that is, if Buck was granted time and the clock was not reset like it should have been, or arguing a violation is not an auto ejection, then the ump is clearly in the wrong in my opinion. If time was granted but the clock didn't reset, then ump needs to be smart enough to know when he's buzzed for the violation that it is a mistake and not call the violation. Or, if the violation was legit, but arguing is not an auto ejection, then there was no need to eject Buck as he was calmly and respectfully arguing. He wasn't throwing a tantrum or disrespecting the ump in any way.

[LambchoP]

I just hope he's healthy and can play everyday during important series like the one this weekend against KC and the Big four game series against CLE which will probably determine the division winner. If Buck can play most days the rest of the way and play well, it'll be a huge boost for our lineup and defense. I've given up hope of seeing Correa again this year, unless we make the playoffs. Varland needs to go to the pen, he's had every opportunity to prove he's a starter in the bigs and hasn't done it. He could be a real good one or two innings guy in the pen though. That's still valuable, especially with the state our pen is in.

[chinmusic]

Byron Buxton Ejected from Rehab Game in St. Paul

 

Now there's a headline you don't see every day!

 

[thelanges5]

 

[Otaknam]

12 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

It appeared the ump, after a clear procedural issue with the clock was the one who lacked maturity. One doesn’t toss a guy when the player is walking away and maybe 10 feet away when thrown out.

That depends on what the player said, even in this example. Curse or insult the ump, you’re gone! 

[Muppet]

Ump is minor league. Wasn't even called up to replace Angel Hernandez. 

Maybe when Phil Cuzzi retires, this guy will be called up as his replacement. 

[Doctor Gast]

2 hours ago, Craig Arko said:

Be careful what you wish for.

What I wish for is fairness. I'm against steroids, personal goldilocks balls, illegal sticky stuff. illegal sign stealing & for a straight ABS system. There are teams that are for or against these things because they benefit from them. 

I'm not at the point of having  A I androids to replace human referees, if that is what you are referring to.