After an egregious called third strike in the seventh inning between New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State on Friday night grabbed headlines across college baseball, the Southland Conference has suspended the umpire responsible.
Delta Devils outfielder Davon Mims took offense to a bad second strike call on a fastball at his shins, jumping out of the batter’s box and stomping around. The ensuing 1–2 pitch was several feet outside over the opposite batting box, but the umpire appeared to retaliate because of Mims’s reaction on the pitch prior.
The Southland Conference decided Saturday to suspend the umpire indefinitely, and released a statement detailing the decision.
“The Southland Conference is committed to promoting and enforcing the principles and standards of good sporting conduct in connection with all conference activities involving our member institutions, including competition against non-conference opponents. The conference expects this conduct to be upheld by all game participants.
“After a thorough review of the New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State baseball contest on March 10, 2023, the Southland Conference confirmed the home plate umpire’s conduct and action were deemed detrimental to the Conference and in violation of Section 3 Character and Conduct of the CCA Mechanics Manual for Baseball. As a result, the umpire has been removed from the series and has been suspended indefinitely from Southland Conference baseball games. The conference will have no further comment.”
Umpiring can be a tough gig, one only made tougher when consciously making the incorrect call.
