Some grumpy umpires never want to let the lads have any fun.
During the fifth inning of Sunday's college baseball game between Grand Canyon University and Nebraska, Grand Canyon senior Tyler Wilson came up to bat with the bases loaded and his team down by four runs — and proceeded to hit a game-tying grand slam.
He really hit a game tying grand slam and got ejected for bat flipping pic.twitter.com/7k155siGOq
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) February 25, 2024
Before commencing his home run trot, Wilson celebrated the clutch shot with a behemoth bat flip. Then, seconds after he touched home plate, Wilson was ejected by the home plate umpire.
Home plate umpire Jason Rogers' decision to be the No-Fun Police is ridiculous for a few reasons, one of which is that Wilson's bat flip really wasn't that egregious. There have been many more-excessive bat-flip celebrations in recent years that umpires brushed off with ease. So what's the big fuss about this one?
Even if Wilson's bat flip might have been a tad much, it's not as if there's an excessive-celebration penalty in baseball as there is in football. So why are some umpire so strict about enforcing nonexistent laws?
Of course, this specific ejection is yet another example of the longstanding problem that has been plaguing baseball for decades: Some guys (players, coaches and, in this case, umpires) in the game take it upon themselves to enforce baseball's unwritten rules — which amounts to them looking like sticklers and impeding the game's allure to younger fans.
If baseball has any hope of continuing to progress and develop, these anti-celebration enthusiasts need to loosen up a bit. This isn't the 1940s anymore — guys are allowed to show some excitement when they crush a clutch home run.
Luckily, considering that all of social media seems to agree that this ejection was absolutely ridiculous and that Wilson should be free to celebrate however he wants after such a majestic blast, baseball isn't dead yet.
Perhaps this can be a lesson for Rogers and the rest of baseball's No-Fun Police: Let the boys be boys.
