St. Louis Cardinals’ Lars Nootbaar. Jeff Le-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar gets his money's worth in first-inning ejection

By Tommy Fradenburg | Last updated 5/22/24

The St. Louis Cardinals (21-26) are in the midst of another disappointing season, currently sitting in fourth place in the National League Central.

Outfielder Lars Nootbaar is also struggling, hitting a career-worst .213 with five home runs and 17 RBI in 34 games. So when Nootbaar struck out looking in the bottom of the first inning on a call he disagreed with, he apparently gave home plate umpire Mike Estabrook a piece of his mind. This didn't stop when he got back to the dugout, continuing into Paul Goldschmidt's at-bat.

The result was the first ejection of Nootbaar's career, and a very close encounter between he and Estabrook.

Things get heated early in this one. Lars Nootbaar has been ejected in the bottom of the first inning. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/Dub62NOMar
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) May 21, 2024

"As we showed you, it wasn't a strike," said Cardinals play-by-play announcer John Rooney. "The strike zone has been large on both sides in the first inning. Both sides have had something to complain about with Mike Estabrook."

This is the latest example of a missed call (and ejection) that could eventually be prevented with the automatic ball-strike system that has been experimented with in the minor leagues and is in use in Triple-A.

Here is the strike three call that set off #STLCards RF Lars Nootbaar, who was hit with the first ejection of his MLB career a couple of minutes later. pic.twitter.com/2VjnUDuRho
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) May 22, 2024

On May 4, New York Yankees star Aaron Judge stuck out on a borderline pitch against the Detroit Tigers. After sharing a few words with the umpire, Judge was tossed as he walked back to the dugout.

On Monday, Starling Marte of the New York Mets was ejected for arguing balls and strikes, but the ejection didn't come until he tried to take his place in the field.

While there are plenty of examples of players being in the wrong or taking their protests too far, MLB should have a problem with umpires removing the players fans paid money to see. An automated ball-strike system could not only take the pressure of having to make more than 200 close calls a game off umpires, but it could also remove many arguments that often lead to ejections.

It would result in more correct calls, which should be the ultimate goal. Fans don't attend and watch the games to see umpires influence the result with "human mistakes," either with a missed call or soft ejection.

If MLB commissioner Rob Manfred can find a way to reduce those instances, he'll be doing the game a favor.

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