Joe Mikulik, the manager of the Class A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, part of the Texas Rangers organization, apparently feels his tantrums on the field are part of his job description. On Sunday, protesting a fifth-inning call from umpire Adam Beck in a game the Pelicans eventually lost 9-1 to Salem, he gestured toward Beck’s face several times, removed his cap and hurled it aside, slid into home plate, then repeated the slide, and finally yanked off his jersey and shoes.
Mikulik’s meltdown was triggered when Christopher Bostick grounded into a 5-2-3 double play to end the top of the fifth inning. On the play, Luis Mendez was tagged out as he slid toward the plate, but Mikulik thought he was safe, which prompted his own two slides into home. After Mikulik took off his shoes and left them in front of home plate, he yanked his jersey off, left it near the shoes, and gestured “Safe!” at his jersey.
Mikulik has acted like a terrible two-year-old before as manager of the Class A Asheville Tourists of the Colorado Rockies organization. In 2006, Mikulik protested a call by initially pulling up second base and hurling it into the outfield, and then heading toward home plate, where he covered it with dirt. He entered the dugout and promptly started throwing bats on to the field, then heading back toward home plate to pour water from a bottle over the dirt on the plate to create a mud patch. In 2012, he protested a call by ripping up third base and handing it to a fan in the crowd.
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