It’s safe to say that Anthony Rizzo was not a fan of this ruling from the home plate umpire.
On Monday, the New York Yankees were hosting the Tampa Bay Rays, with the score tied 0-0 in the bottom of the third. During Rizzo’s at bat, the first baseman was plunked in the thigh with an inside slider. As Rizzo was making his way towards first, home plate umpire DJ Reyburn emphatically called him back to the plate, signaling that the Yankees first baseman didn’t make enough effort to get out of the way of the ball.
It’s a ruling that’s rarely called in baseball, but one that Rizzo seemingly violated on this pitch. And boy, was he furious!
After some heated discussion, Rizzo went back into the batter’s box, with the official ruling calling it a ball that he failed to make an attempt to get away from.
Instead of trotting along to first on a hit by pitch, Rizzo eventually struck out during that at bat, causing his frustrations to boil over into the dugout after he returned.
With three wins in their last 13 games, it’s no wonder tensions are starting to boil over for the Yankees as their massive lead at the top of the AL East slowly starts to slip away. Here’s how MLB fans reacted to the ruling and Rizzo’s meltdown.
Yankees fans were incredibly heated over the ruling on Anthony Rizzo
And yet, some MLB fans weren’t buying what Rizzo was selling
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