Minnesota Twins captain Derek Shelton was ejected from Sunday’s game against the Orioles in the ninth inning after arguing that Baltimore closer Ryan Helsley didn’t tip his cap quickly enough to signal an automated ball strike (ABS) challenge.
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“I didn’t think Helsley tipped his hat quick enough,” Shelton said after the Orioles’ 8-6 win. “Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. But I didn’t feel like he did. I feel like it has to be something that’s in the three seconds, and I didn’t think it was there. But the referee team thought it was.”
Helsley challenged a four-ball call from home plate umpire Chris Segal on a full count to designated hitter Josh Bell. He tapped his cap as he came off the mound during his pitch, but Segal didn’t see it at first, so Helsley gestured again. ABS then showed that the ball caught the outside of the zone and Bell was retired for the second out of the inning.
Shelton immediately ran out of the third base dugout and yelled at Segal. Second base umpire Laz DÃaz came to his defense, endorsing that Helsley made the signal on time. The Twins manager continued to show his frustration and Segal fired him. A heated back-and-forth ensued at home plate between Shelton and the umpires.
“I understood where he was coming from, because I felt like the referee didn’t see me right away, so I was a little confused,” Helsley said. “Laz (Diaz), behind me, defended him. He said, ‘He did it right away,’ and I know we’re probably going to go through some growing pains with this since we’re new, and I think we saw that today. And I can respect Shelton for trying not to do it there, because it seemed like it was a little long at the time.”
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The challenge was one of 10 issued by the two teams in the game, with seven of Segal’s calls reversed by ABS, including two contested balls by the Orioles in the ninth. Baltimore went 5-for-6 in its challenges after making just one challenge in the team’s first two games combined.
Helsley was the first Orioles pitcher to throw a challenge, something he hopes to continue doing in key situations, something closers face more often than not.
“For me, I want to be 100% sure,” Helsley said. “At the time, obviously, it was originally called a ball, so it would have been first and second, and that’s a lot harder than two outs with a guy on first, and I felt like I made a good pitch and if we missed right there, at least we know it’s a ball for sure.”
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