The Toronto Blue Jays are still reeling from a difficult three-game series against the Chicago White Sox earlier this week.
In the second game of the series, both teams faced an atrocious strike zone from home plate umpire Doug Eddings,
who battled terribly on Tuesday. The majority of the missed calls were against Blue Jays hitters, which exacerbated
tensions and resulted in pitching coach Pete Walker getting booted.
One day later, hitting coach Guillermo Martínez had a furious disagreement with Eddings while swapping lineup
cards with the White Sox before Wednesday’s game. Martínez was removed from the game and is currently being
reprimanded by Major League Baseball for his behavior.
After making contact with Eddings during the pre-game meeting at home plate, the 37-year-old was fined an
unknown amount and suspended for five games. His ban will begin on Friday, putting him unavailable to the team
until Wednesday.
For those who missed it, here’s the clip of Martínez confronting Eddings about his terrible performance the night
before. Martínez frequently pointed and touched Eddings’ shoulder before leaving the field.
The Blue Jays are presently leading the majors in ejections this season, including players and managers, with eight.
The next closest team has only four. That’s a fairly large margin.
Toronto will begin a three-game series at Milwaukee against the Brewers on Friday, with starter Alek Manoah
making his 14th start of 2022.
