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Umpire Under Fire After Controversial Ejection in Tigers-Giants

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated May 26, 2025 4:31 PM ET

The Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants faced off on Monday in the start of an exciting three-game series between two teams who hope to make a playoff appearance this season.

However, the game took an interesting turn during the bottom of the fifth inning with Tigers outfielder Javier Baez up to bat against Giants right-hand pitcher Hayden Birdsong.

It was a full count with zero outs and zero runners on base and despite Birdsong delivering a putch well below the strike zone, home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi rang Baez up

It's a decision the two-time All-Star clearly did not agree with, as he exchanged words with Cuzzi immediately after the call, and just as he turned to return to the Tigers' dugout, he was thrown out of the game.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch would quickly make his way to Cuzzi, where the argument continued to grow while Baez had to be held back by multiple members of the team.

Javier Baez let the ump have it after this strike three call and he was promptly ejected pic.twitter.com/HwBfdjtulB
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 26, 2025

The altercation immediately caught the attention of a number of fans, with many insisting that it should never have escalated that far and that a punishment should be in store for Cuzzi.

'Ejecting a player walking towards the dugout-out is some of the wimpiest stuff I’ve seen," said one comment.

"If Javy is arguing balls and strikes (correctly btw) you know you messed up," said another.

"Easy fix, since the call was wrong and he ejected Baez, cuzzi automatically is fined 1/2 the games pay. Easy prevention or way to get umps to get better," a third continued.

A fourth stated, 'Why do umpires always have to make the games about themselves?"

'Umpires should be Disciplined for this," a fifth continued.

"Umpires have been worse than ever even ejecting people who are walking away and the calls have been horrendous MLB needs to get it together," said another.

It's certainly unfortunate for Baez, who has been solid for the Tigers this season, appearing in 45 games, accumulating 154 at-bats, 44 hits, 23 runs scored, six home runs, 29 RBIs, five walks and a .789 OPS.

In the end, though, Cuzzi's controversial decision proved not to have a huge effect on the game, as Detroit walked away with a 3-1 win.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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