PHILADELPHIA – It was a short afternoon for Nick Castellanos in Sunday's series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Castellanos disagreed with two called strikes on the outside corner. After the called third strike, he turned toward home-plate umpire Sean Barber to say a few words. Five seconds into their chat, Barber ejected Castellanos from the game.
"I think Nick does a great job, maybe the best I’ve seen of any really good hitter like he is, where he doesn’t say much at all when he’s hitting," Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell said afterward. "He’s very respectful. I believe that might have been his first ejection in a situation like that, arguing balls and strikes, in his career. That’s pretty amazing, just because sometimes things happen."
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In the ninth inning Saturday, Castellanos struck out on a check-swing call from Barber, who was then the first-base umpire. From the batter's box, Castellanos appeared to say, "That's not even close."
Bell ran out of the dugout when Castellanos turned to Barber, but he didn't reach him in time to prevent an ejection. After the ejection, Bell stood in front of Castellanos and argued with Barber as Castellanos turned to head back to the dugout.
Bell argued with Barber and crew chief Alan Porter for more than 30 seconds before he was ejected by Porter.
"I knew right away when Nick responded like that, I’d better get out there quick," Bell said. "I mean, it affects the game so much when you lose any player that early in the game. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get out there in time to help the situation."
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It was Castellanos' second ejection of his career. Castellanos was ejected during the second game of the season when he shouted and flexed over St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring on a wild pitch. Castellanos later received a two-game suspension and a $10,000 fine because the benches cleared.
Bell has been ejected 15 times in his three-year managerial career with the Reds, including four times this season.
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