David Ortiz of the Red Sox expressed his anger at an umpire’s call Saturday night by smashing two dugout phone covers with a plastic bat. The bat shattered and second baseman Dustin Pedroia shielded himself from the flying debris with a towel.
Ortiz claimed umpire Tim Timmons should not have called a strike. ESPN explains: “Ortiz was at the plate with a 3-and-0 count against Baltimore reliever Jairo Asencio, when he backed out of the batter’s box at the same time Asencio delivered a pitch that upon repeated viewings on replay was clearly high. Ortiz said he had not called time. … He became more agitated when Timmons also called the next pitch, which appeared out of the zone, another strike, and became inconsolable when he swung at the next pitch, which was down and in, to strike out.”
Ortiz hit the dugout phones, then was restrained by manager John Farrell and bench coach Torey Lovullo.
As a final gesture, however, Ortiz threw an elbow pad toward Timmons.
Pedroia said: “Guys get frustrated. It’s part of the game. I just wanted to make sure David didn’t get too bad where he gets suspended or any of that. ... He’s the biggest part of our lineup. We can’t afford to lose David for even one game.”
Farrell told ESPN in amazement, the phone worked after Ortiz’s attack: “It rang. … Somebody called down.”
The Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-3.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
