Umpire Joe West made headlines when he ejected Nationals GM Mike Rizzo for arguing balls and strikes in Atlanta… from the luxury suite. The scene was bizarre and led to confusion, as West and his crew stopped the game to throw out Rizzo, who was hundreds of feet away in the second deck.
What’s more peculiar was the fact Rizzo never left the ballpark. Speaking with 106.7 the Fan’s The Sports Junkies, Rizzo explained after being ejected for “chirping” at the umpires, he actually never left his suite.
“I did nothing, I stood there and watched the game,” Rizzo said.
Considering the enormity West made of the situation, it’s amusing Rizzo stepped back into his suite and continued to watch the remainder of the game.
In all seriousness, Rizzo says he had good reason not to leave the ballpark. At the time, the Nationals were closing out their weekend series with the Braves and were heading back to Washington after the game. He actually had no place to go, on the road with MLB’s COVID-19 protocols.
“With all the protocols, there’s nowhere really to go,” Rizzo said. “I mean, where do you leave the suite on the third level, to go… where? By the field? In the clubhouse? You’re not allowed in the clubhouse because of the COVID protocols. I don’t know. What do you sit outside of the stadium?
“I didn’t know what to do, so I just stayed there and watched the rest of the game.”
Rizzo was one of three members of the Nationals to be ejected or asked to leave the ballpark from the stands. Pitchers Stephen Strasburg and Anibal Sanchez were the others in two separate incidents. Rizzo’s account of his incident illustrates the absurdity of umpires throwing out MLB players and staff from empty stands.
