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Madison Bumgarner Was Ejected for Directing Profanity at Umpire, Dan Bellino Says
May 4, 2022
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner was ejected after the first inning of Monday's 8-7 win over the Miami Marlins following a lengthy foreign substance check from first-base umpire Dan Bellino.
Bellino told reporters after the game that the ejection came in response to Bumgarner directing obscenities in his direction, and not because he found a foreign substance on the pitcher's hand, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.
It was a bizarre interaction:
"I wouldn't say he took exception to it," Bellino said. "It was just a hand check."
Bumgarner said after the game, however, that his run-in with Bellino wasn't exactly a standard hand check:
"You guys have seen the video," he noted. "I don't know if I could say anything that would make the situation better. What I'm going to say is I'm extremely proud of our team, coming back and winning because I put us in a big hole there. Obviously, I didn't go into the game with the intention of throwing one inning. ... Everyone picked me up today."
"What led up to that was a little bit probably of Bum being uncomfortable in a certain situation; he said a little bit too much and got ejected," manager Torey Lovullo added while speaking to reporters after the game. "[Bellino's] checking his hand and I think that's where Bum started to get a little uncomfortable, and I haven't had really a chance to talk to Bum about it. But I think he just felt like there was something that didn't make him very happy during that sequence."
Suffice to say, social media had some fun with—and takes on—Bumgarner and Bellino's odd interaction:
Intentional Talk @IntentionalTalkThe guys offer their thoughts on Madison Bumgarner being ejected after the 1st inning today.<a href="https://twitter.com/KMillar15?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KMillar15</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenNelson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StephenNelson</a> <a href="https://t.co/HHeV4bl196">pic.twitter.com/HHeV4bl196</a>
Will Middlebrooks @middlebrooksBumgarner said “Take your F’in time” to the umpire and got tossed. 😂 Watch the umpire not even look at his hands and just stare at MadBum… he knew exactly what he was doing. Bellino has always been a hardo. He was mad bc Bumgarner was arguing balls and strikes. This is tired. <a href="https://t.co/f1JcB6TndZ">https://t.co/f1JcB6TndZ</a>
Outside of Wednesday's shenanigans, the 32-year-old Bumgarner has had a solid start to his second season with Arizona, with a 1-1 record across six starts to go along with a 1.50 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 15 strikeouts in 24 innings.
The Diamondbacks, in turn, have started the season 13-13 and completed a series sweep of the Marlins with their ace watching from the clubhouse.