This minor league bat boy apparently crossed the line.
A Single-A ball boy seemingly earned a rare ejection Thursday when the home plate umpire appeared to gave him the boot after he handed him a few balls and did something that surprised the official.
Umpire Richy Arredondo had a mystified look on his face after receiving balls and then seeing the Quad Cities River Bandits’ bat boy look back at him. Arredondo then seemed to eject the individual.
The crowd watching the Great Lakes Loons’ 7-1 victory roared after the bat boy’s ejection, which marked the third of the inning.
“Wow. Did he throw out the ball boy?” the MILB TV announcer said. “The Bandits’ bat boy may have been ejected from the game, and, if so, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen that.”
The official box score lists only two ejections from the game, River Bandits catcher Canyon Brown and manager Jesus Azuaje, but the umpire definitely ejected a third person and it seemed to be the bat boy.
It all unfolded in the seventh inning with the Loons leading, 4-1.
Brown earned an ejection during a conference at the mound following a walk to put two men on, and Azuaje later left early after arguing a passed ball.
The third ejection came after a balk resulted in a run scoring to give the Loons a 7-1 lead.
As the crowd booed, the bat boy came out to give Arredondo some new balls.
It’s hard to tell in the video if the bat boy says anything, but Arredondo looked in the bat boys’ direction when he ejected a third person, holding out his hands in a “Are you serious?” manner.
The umpire then made some remarks toward the dugout.
The @MILBEjections X account said the bat boy received the boot “under 6.04(a) trying to incite, by word or sign a demonstration by spectators through his actions.”