There were a lot of strikeouts in last night’s Twins-Tigers game, many of which were called third strikes. This is not necessarily surprising given that Fransico Liriano and Justin Verlander were pitching, but it’s also likely that the ump was being a bit generous with the zone too. It happens.
Not that Denard Span was all that understanding about it. After taking a called strike three in the eighth inning -- which looked like a ball on TV but could have maybe caught a corner -- Span, waved off home plate ump Paul Emmel, who promptly ejected him, more likely for what Span said than for the wave, because it was a really quick hook. Once he did, Span tossed his bat towards the backstop. Here’s the video of the whole thing. Span’s teammate Delmon Young thinks he’s an amateur.
Span apologized to Emmel, was reportedly mortified by his conduct and offered some seriously heartfelt “I’m sorry if kids were watching” words of contrition after the game, so my guess is that he won’t be disciplined for his little bat toss.