Red Sox Catcher Shares What Went Down During Buehler, Cora Ejections

The Boston Red Sox suffered two ejections on Tuesday night during an incident that’s since been widely viewed as umpiring malpractice.

Red Sox starting pitcher Walker Buehler and manager Alex Cora were tossed in swift succession during the third inning for arguing balls and strikes, but it was home plate umpire Mike Estabrook who escalated the entire ordeal.

Before Buehler stepped off the mound to protest a pitch (a clear strike), Estabrook had already thrown off his mask, abandoned his post behind the plate, and advanced toward Buehler aggressively.

Buehler’s verbal complaint issued away from the mound was grounds for ejection by rule, but Estabrook’s initial handling of the disagreement was far from necessary.

Cora, not surprisingly, rushed onto the diamond to take umbrage with Estabrook and was soon tossed, joining Buehler in the principal’s office.

It was a wacky few minutes for the Red Sox, and Boston’s breakout catcher Carlos Narváez had the best seat in the house for the entire thing.

Following the game (a 2-0 victory for the Red Sox), Narváez described his version of the ejections, starting with Buehler’s pitch. 

“I ran to the mound trying to get Buehler to calm down a little bit,” Narváez said, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.

“He was arguing about the pitch. I saw the pitch and it was in the strike zone. I was in motion to throw to second so, probably, the umpire didn’t see really good where it landed. That was quick. I was back and forth. I didn’t have time to do much.”

The crucial detail in all of this is that Estabrook obviously didn’t get a good view of the pitch, due to Narváez rising to try and throw Francisco Lindor out stealing second.

That explains why Estabrook got the call wrong (an honest mistake), but again, it’s what followed that wasn’t a professional response from the umpire.

Buehler also took accountability following the game, admitting that he could have kept his cool despite the missed call.

The least culpable character in the comedy of errors appears to have been Cora, who hilariously spent the second game away from his club as they took care of business. And for the second day in a row, Cora had a good excuse for his absence.