Jose Altuve of the Astros takes off his cleats and socks to argue with the umpire
Jose Altuve had a bone to pick with the referee. But when he took off his cleats and socks to reveal the naked facts, he was sent off the field.
In one of the more unusual moments of the 2024 MLB season, the Houston Astros second baseman was ejected from the game in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s game against the San Diego Padres for a ground ball that apparently pinched his big toe while he was in the batter’s box.
Home plate umpire Brennan Miller did not notice the contact and allowed the out.
When the Astros took the field in the bottom of the ninth inning, Altuve was still angry. He took off his cleat and sock to point to the exact spot where the ball had hit his toe. Miller wasted no time in ejecting him from the game.
“It was a foul ball,” Altuve said, according to MLB.com. “It was obvious. I just wanted to face (Robert) Suarez. I know he’s great, but I wanted to keep battling him.”
The groundout left Altuve with no chance of scoring the winning run from second base, and the game was tied 3-3 at the end of the ninth inning.
What angered the Astros most was that Miller remained steadfast in his decision and did not ask any of his fellow umpires for help in making the call.
And even the slow motion replay couldn’t help the Astros. The decision about the foul couldn’t be reviewed, so the out remained.
In addition to Altuve, Houston manager Joe Espada was also ejected from the game.
As it turned out, the game went into overtime, and Kyle Tucker of the Astros delivered the winning RBI single in the 10th inning.
And Altuve’s teammates did not have to share the pain of losing his foot.
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