I love that Morales has a rather amused look on his face (and probably lip-reading might confirm this) as if to say to Bassitt, "are you kidding me right now? Are you really coming out here to argue about this? Why? Just stop and sit back down."

I would fully support MLB adopting the NCAA rule for half swings. It probably won’t stop arguments but it might decrease the number of arguments on half swings because more people will know what to expect. If the goal is consistent enforcement of the rules then the rules that umpires are tasked to enforce must be clear. I think the more ambiguous a rule is, the more likely there is to be an argument and an ejection.

I was at this game. I didn't even notice that ejection until after I watched the replay at home! Also, shout out to our broadcasters. Steve and Bob are the best! Thanks for the breakdown, as always!

A firm rule for checked swings should mean every appeal goes to official review instead of a base umpire. A better standard that would make for faster reviews would be to determine whether the bat is over the plate when the ball passes it.

Finally, an announcer that knows the chat swing rule

"He's a bit red faced" Schneider is ALWAYS a bit red in the face. Probably didn't help that it was ridiculously hot in Phoenix. Chase Field can't keep all of that heat out. Ejection was pretty by-the-book. Schneider's attitude suggests that he wasn't all that worked up about it. And another one down for Lindsey - on to the next!

Arguing a check swing is never a good idea. Not only that, Gabe Morales doesn’t take bullshit from anyone.

He attempted to strike the pitch. He missed. That's a strike.

Even in parlance, he struck.

Bobble head heaven.

As a jays fan, I'm sorry about John. We don't want him either but our gm keeps him. 😢

Was a strike

Personally, I love how the strike rule is written, but that's just me

The NCAA rule is NOT a good idea. Here is why: As a college umpire AND professional hitting instructor, the front hip location is a terrible way to judge a "swing". Location of the pitch (in/out) dictates where a hitter should make contact. So a ball outside should be struck deeper in the zone, as a pitch inside should be struck out in front of the batter's front hip. In other words, the barrel SHOULD be at different locations at time of the attempted contact (assuming they judges the location correctly and swung at the correct time). So using the player's body is not a consistent nor valid way to judge a check swing. The rule as it stands, as weird as it sounds (OBR and NFHS) is really the only way it can be done properly. Just my 2 cents

He clearly went... and a player NOT IN THE GAME... coming out to argue will almost always get you tossed.. if he heeded the stop sign he'd have been fine. Entitled players... this was not even close.. he was still moving forward when the pitch passed him.. that's a swing.. the previous.. bat looked like it was still on the shoulder.. he turned his body.. that's not an attempt to HIT the ball (probably an attempt to avoid the ball).. MLB needs to adopt a rule from lower levels.. ejection for any reason brings an automatice 1 game suspension. Too many players are arguing stuff they are not supposed to and worse... they are often wrong in their assertions (not always.. but the rule about arguing balls/strikes was there before I was born.. and I have kids older than most if not nearly all of these whiney players.)

Might as well change it to the college rule. He went.

Does the whole "getting ejected to motivate the team" actually work at all? i cant imagine it does. anyone got statistics on that?