Did an MLB umpire bait Madison Bumgarner into a first inning ejection?

Madison Bumgarner has pitched in the Major Leagues for more than a decade. He’s known as a fiery competitor with a wicked arm. It’s why teams love him, why fans want to see him and why opponents often have trouble with his stuff.

In the first inning of Wednesday’s matinee between the Diamondbacks and Marlins, that famous temper boiled over—but the reason for it sure seemed like a deliberate attempt by an umpire looking for a reason to toss Arizona’s ace.

Here’s some quick background: After giving up a leadoff home run to Miami’s Jon Berti, MadBum bounced right back to induce pop-ups on Jesus Aguilar and Jorge Soler. The starter thought he’d ended the frame with a strikeout to Garrett Cooper, but home plate umpire Ryan Willis (rightfully) called it a ball as Bumgarner started to walk off the mound before angrily returning. After getting Cooper to fly out to right on the next pitch, MadBum walked towards the dugout to meet first base ump Dan Bellino for the routine foreign substance check after every frame. Then things went off the rails.

Many observers believe Bellino baited MadBum during the incident. A closer look at the video shows Bellino staring straight into Bumgarner’s eyes as he continues rubbing the pitcher’s hand. Bumgarner appears to sarcastically tell Bellino to “take your time” which immediately led to him getting run from the game.

The Diamondbacks’ broadcast went back to show the difference between the foreign substance checks of Bumgarner and Marlins’ starter Elieser Hernandez and the tape speaks for itself.

Sure, Bumgarner was already angry after a disappointing inning, but that’s nothing new. He’s been in the league so long that umpires generally understand how he operates. What stands out here is how Bellino seemingly escalated things—which players and fans quickly pointed out.

No one pays to go watch umpires at work. They do pay to see generational talents like Bumgarner—especially when he’s likely making his only start in South Florida this year. Adding to the frustration is that it completely changes the outcome of the game.

The Marlins loaded the bases and plated two runs the following inning as Corbin Martin was summoned to take over on the mound with little time to warm up.

Even more unfortunate is how unlikely we are to hear Bellino’s side of things. We already know that Bumgarner would probably earn himself a fine for daring to talk about bad officiating.

The whole situation is just a confusing bummer and so easily avoidable.