Ron Kulpa Says He Can Do Anything He Wants, a breakdown
What Happened
Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch engages in a heated argument with home plate umpire Ron Kulpa during a game. It begins when Kulpa calls a borderline pitch a strike, prompting an immediate reaction from the Astros dugout. Kulpa fires back at the players, telling them he can "do anything he wants." Hinch comes out of the dugout to defend his team, trying to calm the situation, but Kulpa refuses to back down. The two exchange words, with Kulpa making it clear he is talking directly to the players, not Hinch. Hinch relents, telling Kulpa "you got him" and allowing the umpire to handle the confrontation. However, Kulpa continues to stare into the Astros dugout, looking for more trouble. Hinch attempts to diffuse the situation, telling Kulpa there is "nothing for you to see over here." But Kulpa decides to eject an Astros player from the game, despite Hinch's protests that he doesn't even know which player Kulpa is ejecting. The very next pitch, with tensions still high, Kulpa calls another borderline strike. This time, the Astros dugout remains silent, but Kulpa turns and stares them down again. Hinch pleads with Kulpa, saying "you can't keep doing it" - referring to Kulpa's combative attitude and apparent desire to pick a fight. Kulpa fires back defiantly, telling Hinch "I can do anything I want." The confrontation underscores the ongoing tension between MLB umpires and players/managers, with Kulpa firmly asserting his authority in the face of Hinch's attempts to de-escalate the situation. The episode highlights the delicate balance umpires must strike between enforcing the rules and maintaining control of the game without provoking unnecessary confrontation.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentRon Kulpa umpired a game today pitching
for a fight here's the pitch and its
might be low it might be away they call
a strike immediately the entire Astros
bench is up in arms and he's yelling
right back so they all yelled right away
like where's that where's that instead
of just ignoring your saying shut up he
goes wow that's a strike where is it
that's not a strike and just yelling
right back like he's one of the players
and Hinch is saying don't no no no no no
no no no no you don't talk to my guys
like that and he's trying to be real
calm about it comes out and Copas like
I'm not talking to you I'm talking to
him he's a gay hey that's fine that's
fine I got him you let me handle him you
don't comment don't come up my guy's
like I'm talking to him he's like okay
okay you got him okay you got him okay
all right you got him cool and then I go
their merry ways and then he just starts
staring right into the dugout looking
for another fight or more of the fight
and Hinch is like no no no don't look
over here nothing for you see over here
nothing really look out there look out
there look out there and then he just
throws the guy out you he doesn't even
know what he was throwing out who's that
guy right there
who which one that guy right there that
guy right there who is he who is he all
right he's out of here I kicked him out
and hinge is still trying to play like
listen I have to protect my guys you
can't call out my guys I got to protect
my guys blah blah blah blah blah he's
like whoa he's trying to be calm
listen you're picking a fight I got to
protect my guys blah blah very next
pitch he calls the strike the dugout
doesn't say a thing look at them
none of them are saying anything and he
just turns his head and stares in the
dugout no one said anything that the
camera there and you can't keep doing it
you can't keep doing it that's what he
just said and then they run out and he's
like you can't keep doing it you can't
keep looking at my guys can't keep doing
anything else I can do anything I want I
can do anything I want they got a
problem with Ron Cole pond the MLB