Umpire Dan Bellino has issued an apology for his role in Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner’s bizarre ejection on Wednesday.
Bellino apologized and took “full accountability” for his unusual staredown with Bumgarner during a substance check. Bellino added that he will try to be better in the future, via ESPN's Jesse Rogers:
"I would like to address my actions on May 4 involving Madison Bumgarner," his statement said. "When I began my MLB career almost 15 years ago, I received some good advice. I was told to umpire every game as if my children were sitting in the front row. I fell short of those expectations this week. While I can't go back and change what happened, I take full accountability. I will learn from this incident, and I sincerely apologize."
Public apologies from umpires are exceedingly rare, but Bellino clearly felt it necessary. That is understandable, considering the umpire essentially set up Bumgarner for the controversial ejection after just one inning of Wednesday’s game. There was no need for a confrontation, especially when Bellino was more or less the instigator for no good reason.
Officials have been blamed for starting issues with players before, but it’s almost unheard of for one to take ownership of the situation. Credit to Bellino for that, at least.
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