David Ortiz is having another great year at the plate. On Saturday night, the charismatic and jocular designated hitter went lost his mind before a brief moment inside the visiting dugout in Orioles Park at Camden Yards.
So what set Ortiz off? It was umpire Tim TImmons.
Via ESPN.com:
Ortiz was at the plate with a 3-and-0 count against Baltimore reliever Jairo Asencio, when he backed out of the batter's box at the same time Asencio delivered a pitch that upon repeated viewings on replay was clearly high. Ortiz said he had not called time.
"No, no, it was a ball," Ortiz said. "If the catcher (Matt Wieters) let it go, it would have hit [Timmons] in the face."
Ortiz was incredulous when Timmons called it a strike, barking at the umpire. He became more agitated when Timmons also called the next pitch, which appeared out of the zone, another strike, and became inconsolable when he swung at the next pitch, which was down and in, to strike out.
"I don't know what to do," Ortiz said. "I swung at a pitch that was on the ground."
Ortiz is a good guy, but manager John Farrell should probably talk to him about keeping his anger in check. Swinging that bat wildly in the clubhouse and sending shrapnel flying everywhere was incredibly dangerous and Dustin Pedroia who you could see covering his head beneath a towel on Ortiz's right, appeared angry with him later. Ortiz was still red hot after the game, despite the Red Sox coming away with the win.
