Vladdy Jr gets ejected for the first time in his career, a breakdown
What Happened
In late August 2019, Blue Jays rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up the first ejection of his MLB career while Toronto was busy playing spoiler down the stretch. Home plate umpire Mike Estabrook rang Vladdy up on a borderline outside pitch that the young slugger thought missed the zone. Guerrero stepped back in, then chased the same outside pitch and barked that he only swung because of the earlier call, telling Estabrook 'that's on you.' Estabrook tossed him, and when manager Charlie Montoyo came out to ask what was said, the answer was simple: you can't argue balls and strikes, period.
Why This Matters
Arguing balls and strikes is the fastest way to get run in baseball, and umpires don't need an insult to do it. Just expressing disagreement with the zone is enough, which is exactly what got Guerrero. The interesting wrinkle here is the swing. Vladdy chasing a pitch he thought was a ball, then blaming the prior call, gave Estabrook all the justification he needed. For a 20-year-old having his first ejection, it was a quick lesson in the unwritten hierarchy: veterans get rope, rookies get tossed. The 2019 Blue Jays were out of contention by then, so the stakes were pride more than playoffs. Estabrook had a reputation among players for a shaky zone and a short fuse, which made the moment feel less like Vladdy losing his cool and more like a young star running into a known umpire problem early.
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Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Vladdy Jr.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentVladdy Jr. got his first injection of
his career the baby J still trying to
play spoiler this pitch right there
called a strike he can't believe it
thinks it's off the plate walks away has
to take this one and this one is brought
to you by Roosevelt shirts are s VLTs
steps back into the box
showed the UMP up a little bit couldn't
believe it was called here's the pitch
again that seems not that egregious
seems like I could have got plate and
then he swings at the same pitch outside
and he says that's on you I swung at
that cuz you called the last my mom says
stop it stop it mumbles Upton just looks
at him and gets ejected that's [ __ ]
and Vlad's like you know what I'm
playing these dumb games you guys eject
people too quick and it ain't joke the
older players might give you some fodder
I'm just over it Montoya comes out says
What did he say Mike likes like well he
told me that was a [ __ ] card told me
yeah but what did he call you though no
he just told me it was a bad call he
said it was on me but What did he say to
you that you threw him out he's like
that's what he said he said there's a
bad call said it was on me it's like but
doesn't you have to actually like insult
you or say something terrible he says
yeah but you can't argue balls and
strikes you can't do it and that's that
Mike Estabrook the umpire who loves
throwing people out for arguing balls
and strikes and also is known for having
a bad strike zone he also somewhat looks
like a very smug Rob Corddry the actor
and this ends this breakdown go to
Roosevelts calm RS VLTs use code
john-boy and you get 20% off they've got
fun shirts the opposite of Mike
Estabrook a known unfun umpire