Cardinals designated hitter Wilson Contreras erupted in a furious tirade Monday night after being called out on strike three in St. Louis’ game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The incident took place in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Cardinals held a 6-5 lead with a runner on first base and Contreras at the plate with one out.
Home plate umpire Derek Thomas called Contreras out, and at first, the Cardinals hitter began walking away. Then, he turned and confronted Thomas. The exchange quickly escalated into a shouting match as Contreras had to be held back by multiple coaches and players.
Contreras was ejected, and bench coach Daniel Descalso put his arms around Contreras and pulled him toward the dugout as he continued to protest. However, before reaching the dugout, the enraged hitter threw his bat, which hit one of the Cardinals’ coaching staff in the face.
Looking at the location of the pitches, it’s clear that the umpire made the right decision in calling Contreras out on strikes. The #2 pitch was outside the strike zone, but Contreras swung on it.
After the game, Contreras told reporters that he wasn’t upset by the strike call, but instead that the umpire threw him out “for nothing.” According to the Cardinals slugger, the ump tossed him because of something he thought he heard Contreras say.
“I’m still wondering to be honest,” Contreras said when asked what prompted his ejection. “I don’t think he had reason to throw me out. I didn’t argue any pitch in my last at-bat. The only thing I said was, ‘Call the pitch on both sides because you’re missing for us.’
“I turned around, and the next thing I heard, they threw me out. He had no reason for it.”
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