You’ve seen bad calls and you’ve seen selfish referees, but you’ve probably never seen them combine like they did on Friday. And there were consequences.
In the ninth inning of a game between Mississippi Valley State and New Orleans, outfielder Davon Mims went home plate as Mississippi Valley State’s last out. After two throws, things got weird.
With the count tied at 1-1, New Orleans pitcher Trey Usey appeared to miss low with a breaking ball. And by “miss low,” we mean the pitch felt closer to Mims’ ankles than his knees. Plate umpire Reggie Drummer saw it differently, calling the pitch a hit and triggering a furious reaction from Mims.
Your normal umpire show would have seen Drummer eject Mims, as he jumped up and down and pointed with his bat, but the umpire chose to do things a little differently. He set up for the next pitch with the 1-2 count and saw Usey miss badly with a break ball.
Strike three.
Just look at this:
The consequences came quickly for Drummer, as the Southland Conference, the home team’s conference, announced the next day that he had confirmed that Drummer’s actions were a violation of the rule book and suspended him indefinitely from working their games.
The full statement:
The Southland Conference is committed to promoting and upholding the principles and standards of good sportsmanship in all Conference activities involving our member institutions, including competition against non-Conference opponents. The Conference expects this conduct to be observed by all participants in the Game.
After a thorough review of the New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State baseball contest on March 10, 2023, the Southland Conference confirmed that the home plate umpire’s conduct and actions were found to be prejudicial. to the Conference and in violation of Section 3 Character and Conduct of ACC Mechanisms. Handbook for baseball.
As a result, the umpire was removed from the series and suspended indefinitely from Southland Conference baseball games.
The conference will have no further comments.
By the time the statement was released, the clip of Mims’ strike was going viral and sparking outrage against Drummer. He is no longer allowed to manage Southland Conference games, but the consequences could end up going beyond that.