Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was ejected from Thursday night's game against Detroit for arguing with the home plate umpire over his pitch ruling.
It happened in the bottom of the 11th inning with a ghost runner on second and nobody out with the Tigers leading 4-3. With the count 0-2 to Twins batter Ryan Jeffers, Tigers reliever Rafael Montero threw a splitter low and outside. Jeffers tipped it and the ball appeared to hit the ground before landed in the glove of catcher Dillon Dingler. However, home plate umpire John Bacon ruled that Dingler caught the ball before it hit the ground, so Jeffers was out. Unfortunately, the call was not reviewable.
Baldelli came out of the dugout to argue with Bacon over the call. Bacon tried to be understanding with Baldelli's call, but when Baldelli said "No f***ing way. You f***ed it up," then Bacon had enough and ejected Baldelli. Baldelli kicked some dirt on home plate and argued some more, then tossed his hat across the field on his way back to the dugout.
Rocco Baldelli told the ump “no f---ing way, you f---ed it up” after the ump ruled that this pitch to Ryan Jeffers didn’t hit the ground
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 15, 2025
Baldelli tossed his hat on the field before leaving pic.twitter.com/BIuIky3IaX
This is the fourth ejection for Baldelli this year. This one was a close call based on the replay that viewers had access to at home. It is unfortunate that the call falls outside the scope of replay review.
The Twins were unable to rally and lost to the Tigers 4-3.
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).
