Yankees' Rizzo: Ump called strike 'out of spite'
New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo believes home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez acted out of spite when calling balls and strikes during an at-bat in Thursday's game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Rizzo called out to Gonzalez from the dugout in the eighth inning to voice his displeasure while Giancarlo Stanton was hitting and was promptly ejected.
"I feel like, out of spite, he called the second one a strike just to prove that's his strike zone," Rizzo said of his at-bat, according to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com.
"That's where I got really frustrated. You missed one? That's fine. I have the utmost respect for these umpires ... I feel like on this team, with how professional we are as a unit, when someone turns around and mentions something, I don't think I've seen one guy be wrong yet.
"Then the next pitch comes and it's pretty much the same pitch - and strike two. I don't even react. You gotta be kidding me. Obviously, that's totally different."
The Yankees ended up losing the game on a walk-off homer.