Former South Carolina baseball star Christian Walker is red hot for the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 10 games in the month of May, Walker has hit five home runs and has gotten on base 17 times. He has scored a run or knocked in a run 20 times during that stretch and is hitting for what would be a career-high batting average so far on the young season.
However, on Friday, he finally ran into someone who could stop his hot streak: Major League Baseball umpire Alfonso Marquez.
Celebrating a correct call from a different umpire by clapping, Walker was tossed out of the Diamondbacks’ game against the San Fransisco Giants by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez.
Christian Walker was ejected for clapping after the umpire made a correct call pic.twitter.com/VHe8vdzcSY
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 13, 2023
Walker was unhappy with a call that went against the Diamondbacks in the previous inning (a call made by Marquez), so his celebratory clap in the sixth was likely filled with sarcasm. However, it was not overtly disrespectful or an over-the-top display of vitriolic behavior toward the umpiring crew. The camera was even situated on Walker as he clapped, and he did not seem to speak other than to say, “Okay!” after the correct call. He did nothing that would warrant an ejection.
A truly bizarre ejection, Walker was tossed from a game that was tied 4-4 in the sixth inning. The Diamondbacks went on to win the game anyway, but that has not lessened the public criticism that has been hurled (deservedly) toward Marquez. Analysts have been calling for the Major League Baseball Umpires Association (or Major League Baseball, itself) to suspend Marquez for his thin skin and gross abuse of power. Fans from all over the league have called the ejection “laughable,” “asinine,” “ridiculous,” and “soft,” and each of those adjectives fit.
There have been tons of bad ejections in Major League history, but Walker’s might be the most undeserved ejection of all-time. Surely all of the Alfonso Marquez fans in attendance in Arizona were thrilled with the way the 23-year veteran umpire made the game all about himself.
The former South Carolina baseball star Walker was back in the lineup on Saturday.