Nick Castellanos Ejected For Touching the Dirt With His Bat After a Questionable Call
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Nick Castellanos was thrown out of the Philadelphia Phillies' 15-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Monday night. Castellanos took exception to a questionable called third strike by umpire John Libka and made a tiny imprint in the dirt before walking back to the dugout. It wasn't a big show, but it was an auto-toss from Libka.
Nick Castellanos gets ejected after a questionable strike three call.
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 11, 2023
Phils up 14-3 pic.twitter.com/FlYdhlGF0l
He didn't appear to say a word, but you touch the dirt with your bat and draw a dot, well, it's a slippery slope from there to drawing a full line.
Nick Castellanos gets ejected for arguing the strike 3 call #Phillies #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/QrdgPX2Uo7
— Amedeo Grassia (@AmedeoGrassia98) April 11, 2023
Overall, it was a very fast at-bat for Castellanos, who was also handed a 0-1 count when he was called for a pitch timer violation to start his plate appearance. No wonder games are so short this season. The only thing holding up the pace of play is umpires waiting for ejected players to get out of the dugout.