Tigers Manager Brad Ausmus Ejected After Profanity-Laced Tirade In 10-8 Win Over Twins
Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was ejected from the team’s home game against the Minnesota Twins on Monday night, which the Tigers won 10-8, after shouting a profanity-laced tirade at plate umpire Doug Eddings in the fourth inning.
Tigers Manager Brad Ausmus Ejected After Tirade
Ausmus, 47, has recently faced a string of questions regarding his job security as the Tigers continue their terrible losing streak. He began barking at Eddings following a called strike against Detroit third baseman Nick Castellanos in the bottom of the fourth inning of the series opener at Comerica Park.
Although Castellanos was the first to express his dissatisfaction with the questionable third-strike call, Ausmus promptly intervened on his player’s behalf, hurling obscenities at Eddings in a vehement rant that ended with him removing his sweatshirt and placing it over home plate before walking away, still fuming.
“There was a culmination of a lot of things,” Ausmus told reporters. “As far as the blowup, there comes a point when you get seven or eight guys coming back from home plate complaining about the strike zone– they can’t all be wrong. I was angry and I just kind of unraveled.”
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Microphones on the television broadcast were able to pick up the manager’s comments. He later apologized to any children who may have heard the rant, and added that they should not repeat that type of language.
“I certainly don’t want any kids to hear it, but I wasn’t going out there to be politically correct,” Ausmus said.
He said he was only angry about the strike zone. The Tigers had lost 11 of their last 13 games heading into Monday’s game. Ausmus had already displayed signs of belligerence earlier in the day, snapping at reporters who repeatedly asked him about his future with the team.
“We get it. I’m on the hot seat,” Ausmus barked at reporters before the game. “I might get fired. We’re done talking about it. You want to talk about baseball, you want to talk about the Tigers, you want to talk about getting on a winning streak, that’s fine. This, we’re beating a dead horse.”
His approval rating soared after he was thrown out. When Ausmus exited the game, the Tigers led 8-7. Bench coach Gene Lamont took on managerial duties after his ejection.
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning when Ian Kinsler fired Twins starter Jose Berrios’ first pitch into left field for a solo home run. The Tigers then went on to score eight runs in the first inning, their highest total in a decade. However, the Twins slowly began chipping away at the massive lead. They scored two in the second, a run in the third, and four in the fourth to bring the score within one.
After a few scoreless innings, the Twins tied the game in the top of the seventh after J.D. Martinez dropped a routine fly ball with two outs, scoring Byung Ho Park from second base.
Castellanos scored a home run in the bottom of the seventh, and Martinez doubled the lead with a solo shot in the eighth. Francisco Rodriguez worked a scoreless ninth inning for his 10th save of the year.
PHOTO: HOUSTON, TX – APRIL 17: Manager Brad Ausmus #7 waits on the field before the start of their game against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on April 17, 2016 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
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