College Ump Reggie Drummer Suspended Indefinitely After Strike-3 Call Sparks Anger
Umpire Reggie Drummer's horrific call that ended Friday's baseball game between New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State will cost him some time behind the plate.
The Southland Conference announced Drummer was suspended indefinitely, per ESPN.
"After a thorough review of the New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State baseball contest on March 10, 2023, the Southland Conference confirmed the home plate umpire's conduct and actions were deemed detrimental to the Conference and in violation of Section 3 Character and Conduct of the CCA Mechanics Manual for Baseball," the conference said in a statement.
As ESPN explained, Section 3 says "umpires are expected to exhibit and uphold the standards of integrity of the umpiring profession" and that "umpires shall bear a great responsibility for engendering public confidence in sports."
The call in question happened when Davon Mims was at the plate and just one pitch after the Mississippi Valley State left fielder protested a strike call that made the count 1-2.
That pitch was much closer to the strike zone than the final one of the game, which ended up nowhere near the plate. The strike call even appeared to catch the New Orleans catcher off-guard, as he started his throwing motion back to the mound before realizing the game was over.
New Orleans won 7-3 with that strike call, and Drummer quickly walked off the field while ignoring Mims' protests.
The 7-3 score was nothing compared to Saturday's matchup between the two teams, which New Orleans won 35-3 with a replacement umpire working in Drummer's place.
