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MLB players are frequently shown the door. One might claim to see it virtually every day. But a player being sent off the field for taking off his socks and cleats? You don’t see something like that very frequently.
In Tuesday’s 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres, Jose Altuve, the second baseman for the Houston Astros, accomplished just that in the ninth inning. With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Altuve grounded a 1-1 sinker to third base off Padres relief pitcher Robert Suarez. However, the Astros star refrained from running down the first base line because he thought he fouled the ball off his foot.
Rather than waste that time, Altuve used it to argue his point to home plate umpire Brennan Miller, who didn’t appear to be convinced, even after Astros manager Joe Espada joined the argument from the dugout.
Altuve then decided to handle things himself—that is, with his foot, in this case.
In an attempt to convince Miller that the ball had truly been fouled off his foot, Altuve took off his cleat and sock and gestured to his foot. The Astros infielder was sent out right away.
Altuve told reporters during the game that he felt the officials “took it [his foul ball] away from me.”
“It was going through my head that it can’t happen,” Altuve stated. With the winning run on second base in the ninth inning, I’m facing up against Suarez, the closer, a capable pitcher. Thus, the obvious goal is to get a hit, score a run, and win the game.
“It struck my foot and they immediately snatched it away, so I got a foul ball. It is not possible, in my opinion. On the field were four [umpires]. You must just make the correct decision after recognizing the ball’s change in direction.”
This is Altuve’s second experience with this kind of thing this season.
In an MLB game on June 30 against the New York Mets, he was dismissed when umpires determined that he was out on a live ball rather than that he had fouled it off his foot. Altuve was furious and was kicked out of the game pretty much right away.
The Astros return to action on Wednesday night at 6:40 p.m. ET against the Padres.
