Blue Jays' Pillar calls umpires 'really sensitive' following ejection

Kevin Pillar left Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays after a single at-bat, but he doesn't think he did anything wrong.

The Toronto Blue Jays center fielder was ejected in the top of the third inning when he said something to home plate umpire Chad Fairchild. Pillar was on his way back to the dugout following a ground out.

Pillar says he expressed displeasure with a strike call and nothing more, according to the Toronto Sun's Rob Longley.

"All I said was the first pitch was terrible, that was it," Pillar said. “I didn’t raise my voice, didn’t use any profanity, didn’t cause a scene.

"I think I’ve been through a lot this year I’ve understood how to know the power of words and how people could be offended by it. I just felt like I offered my opinion."

This comes only days after umpires around baseball donned white wristbands to protest the escalation of "verbal attacks" coming from players.

"It’s just shocking to me," Pillar said. "It’s just a different time in baseball. Everyone’s really sensitive and things get blown out of proportion. To immediately throw somebody out like that, it’s just sad."

It's the first time in his career, a span of 516 games, where he's been thrown out by an umpire.