Why did Randy Rosenberg eject JT Realmuto? Bizarre umpiring decision raises eyebrows

Philadelphia Phillies’ catcher JT Realmuto was recently thrown out of a Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays due to an awkward ball exchange with umpire Randy Rosenberg.

Rosenberg had just finished calling a pitch-clock violation on Craig Kimbrel when the at-bat in the fourth inning turned into one of baseball’s most bizzarre ejections. Kimbrel asked for a new ball after the violation, and after getting rid of the newly given ball, asked for another one. Realmuto then blindly turned his glove away as the ball hit the ground.

That late movement caused the umpire to immediately eject Realmuto off the game in what seemed to be a weird misinterpretation of events. Rosemberg apparently thought that Realmuto was disrespectful.

The broadcast, though, showed that the catcher was watching the mound and couldn’t have seen what the umpire was doing.

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Why did Rosenberg eject JT Realmuto?

A simple explanation could have cleared it all up, but Rosenberg, who made his MLB umpiring debut in 2020, adamantly stood by the ejection.

Realmuto, in disbelief, left the field while fist-pumping. Phillies manager Rob Thomson came to the plate for an explanation:

“How does he expect me to know he’s giving me the ball right there? ...’I’m not even looking at him". -JT Realmuto

JT Realmuto made his way off the diamond with a few rah-rah fist pumps for the crowd. Phillies Manager Rob Thomson argued about the matter but to no avail.

MLB players, at times, have experimented with how best to use the new rules to their advantage before the regular season. Crew chief Dan Iassogna, though, defended Rosenberg's decision after the game:

“I believe Randy felt like the situation warranted an ejection, and that’s what he did.” - Dan Iasogna

The Phillies won the game 5-2. They play the Blue Jays again on Tuesday (Mar. 28) to end spring training.