San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt exploded after right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. was ejected for complaining to the home plate umpire about one of his strike calls during Monday night's game in the Bronx against the New York Yankees.
It happened in the top of the eighth inning with one out and runners on first and second as the Yankees led 3-0. With the count 1-1 on Tatis, Yanks reliever Devin Williams threw a changeup on the bottom of the strike zone that home plate umpire Adrian Johnson called a strike. Tatis complained a bit, and Shildt screamed from the dugout as he was clearly fired up.
Tatis swung and missed on the next pitch for the second out of the inning. Before heading back to the dugout, Tatis walked by Johnson and said something in his ear. Johnson did not appreciate the comment and ejected him from the game. Once Shildt saw that, it was time to get his money's worth. We did not analyze the specifics of the conversation that followed, but there were a lot of curse words uttered, and Johnson got in a few retorts as well. Shildt's argument lasted for about a minute before he headed back to the locker room.
Mike Shildt absolutely laid into this ump after Fernando Tatis Jr. was ejected for arguing balls and strikes pic.twitter.com/nKSUP0YBzo
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 6, 2025
Shildt does his best to protect his players, even if it means getting ejected himself. In this case, Shildt's ejection appeared to light a fire under the Padres, as they followed up with a walk, a double and a single to score 4-runs in a comeback rally to steal the 4-3 victory. The Padres have now won 6 in a row, while the Yankees have lost three straight.
We normally don't advocate for arguing with umpires, but based on this result, Shildt may have to do this more often.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
