Saturday afternoon, the MLB umpires union announced umpires around the league will wear white wristbands to protest an increase in verbal abuse from players around the league. The protest comes after umpire Angel Hernandez was ripped by Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler last week.
Here's the release from the umpire's union:
#WUA issued the following statement in response to escalating verbal attacks: pic.twitter.com/wGLIoLOUq0
— MLB World Umpires (@MLBaseballUmps) August 19, 2017
The umpire crew for Saturday's game between the Blue Jays and Cubs at Wrigley Field (GameTracker) are indeed wearing white wristbands as part of the protest. Here's a look:
Kinsler argued with Hernandez during Monday's game and was ejected. After the ejection, he appeared to tell Hernandez "you're (expletive) terrible at your job." The next day, Kinsler continued to rip Hernandez while speaking to the media, saying Hernandez "needs to find another job" because "no one wants (him) behind the plate anymore," among other things.
For what it's worth, longtime big league pitcher and television analyst Jim Kaat recently noted players bark at umpires more these days than ever before.
Hmmm..interesting ..never in my baseball lifetime have I seen players openly jaw at umpires as much as today and get no punishment.
— Jim Kaat (@KaatJim) August 9, 2017
Kinsler was fined for his tirade against Hernandez, but was not suspended. Veteran umpire Joe West, meanwhile, was recently suspended three days for comments made about Rangers third base Adrian Beltre.
