Major League Baseball said Tuesday it is reviewing the dispute between Twins outfielder Torii Hunter and home plate umpire Joe West, which occurred at the end of Minnesota’s Opening Day loss in Detroit Monday.
Hunter vented his frustrations to the media after West ruled that Hunter wasn’t able to check his swing on a pitch from Tigers closer Joe Nathan, and West called him out on strikes. That ended the game and gave the Tigers a 4-0 win.
In case you missed Hunter’s comments following the game, here they are.
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Hunter’s reference to a “concert to play in” was pointed at West, who in his free time is an accomplished singer-songwriter, according to the Pioneer Press.
While Hunter didn’t make any contact with West during the dispute, the comments to the media afterwards are still likely to land the outspoken outfielder in hot water.
MLB reviewing Torii Hunter's comments on Joe West. Some form of discipline, probably a fine, wound appear likely.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 7, 2015
While it probably won’t help Hunter right now, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi writes that Monday’s incident underscores a flaw in baseball’s rules that hasn’t been corrected.
“Certain umpires (including West) believe stubbornly that they are capable of simultaneously giving their full attention to a pitch’s location and the relationship of a bat’s barrel to an imaginary plane.
Multiple sources – specifically, the laws of physics – tell me that is impossible.”
Morosi proposes MLB and the MLB Players Association should agree on a new rule to transfer jurisdiction on all checked swings from plate umpires to the appropriate base umpires, who are better positioned to make the correct call.
