In the 3rd inning of Tuesday night’s extra-inning loss to the Yankees, Seattle Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon was ejected for arguing with first-base umpire Will Little. Instead of heading back to the dugout after his heated exchange with Little, McClendon made his way to the plate to give the home plate umpire a piece of his mind… then to third base to give third-base ump an earful. The home crowd gave a standing ovation as their manager trotted between each member of the umpiring crew to let them know exactly what he thought of the job they had done that night, which had resulted in the ejection of Mariners catcher Mike Zunino for arguing a no-swing call.
The scene was a stark contrast to what had played out the night before when McClendon’s team again found themselves losing to the Yankees. Following a brief downpour that wet the pitcher’s mound before the roof of Safeco Field could be closed, the Mariners’ ace Felix Hernandez began struggling to find the plate. He grew increasingly frustrated over the mud stuck in his cleats and the poor mound conditions as he surrendered five walks and seven runs. As the nightmare inning played out, McClendon sat stoically on the top step of the dugout (where he can usually be found), staring at his prized pitcher as he tried to find his footing.
These two versions of McClendon, that of the highly-excitable arguer vs. the stone-faced manager, may seem contradictory, when in reality they paint a very clear picture of a manager who expects the most out of those around him.
“A lot of times, they’re accused of going through the motions,” McClendon said after Tuesday’s ejection, “and when they show emotions, they’re ejected. He was ejected in a situation where I was trying to get out of the dugout to save him. He could not have said anything derogatory. All he did was disagree with a call….To me, that’s not acceptable and it’s not right. We have to do something about that.”
This impulse to stand up for one’s players is not unique to McClendon, as many managers would protest to the quick trigger the umpires showed to Zunino on Tuesday. However, with Seattle’s skipper it is not merely loyalty that drives his decisions, it is the high standards he sets for those around him. After Hernandez surrendered seven runs on Monday, the Mariners’ broadcasters became fixated on the wet mound and how it had impacted their ace’s pitching. In his postgame press conference, McClendon made no such excuses.
“There was nothing wrong with the mound. Pineda didn’t have any problems with the mound,” McClendon said, referring to the Yankees pitcher’s two-run performance. When asked if the wet mound was a distraction for Hernandez, McClendon again insisted “there was no distraction. He just didn’t pitch well.”
Tuesday night marked McClendon’s 31st career ejection, and was far from his most memorable. In 2001 when he was managing the Pirates, McClendon got into it with the first-base ump, picked up the first base bag, took it to the dugout and proceeded to throw it down the runway (the Pirates then put a cap on the base and kept it). After developing a reputation for being thrown out of games, McClendon explained that he felt as though the Pirates were being disrespected due to their history of losing, saying “If I get thrown out of 100 games, then I get thrown out of 100 games. I’m going to keep demanding a playing field that’s equal for my players. I don’t think it’s wrong to demand the umpires’ best effort every day.” Fourteen years later, little has changed. McClendon still demands the best efforts from both his players and the umpires. When these demands are not met by his team, Lloyd remains stoic in the dugout, knowing all eyes are on him as he accepts the criticism for their performance. But when the umpires fail to meet his expectations, McClendon again knows that the fans are looking to him, and in those moments, he is not afraid to put on a show. And Lloyd McClendon can put on one hell of a show.
“He said ‘he can’t show me up like that,’” McClendon answered on Tuesday when asked about his conversation with the umpire, “I said ‘you showed yourself up. You missed the call.’”
Bravo Mr. McClendon, bravo.