Well, they told him he had to leave the game. But they didn’t tell him exactly how to leave the game.
The West Michigan Whitecaps play minor league baseball in the Midwest League. On Friday night, with the Whitecaps leading the Lake County Captains 4-3 in the ninth inning, the umpire called a low curve ball that was definitely not a strike, a strike.
Whitecaps manager Brayan Pena clearly didn’t like the call – as he shouldn’t have – and began giving the umpire an earful. Naturally, the umpire retaliated by ejecting Pena, which brought the manager out of the dugout and over to home plate.
Up to this point, none of this is irregular or unusual. However, after much screaming and arm waving, Pena forgot about exiting the game through the dugout as managers almost always do. Instead, he hopped the wall dividing the field from the stands and walked up the stairs toward the concourse.
Missed this earlier. Both managers in Lake County were ejected tonight. Brayan Peña gave the ump a couple of earfuls and then hopped the fence to join the fans. @ThatDanHasty calls this chapter of a particularly wild game. pic.twitter.com/zd7yDDVzaf
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 17, 2023
After that point, things unraveled for the Whitecaps as Lake County tied and eventually won the game. It is unclear if Pena actually left the stadium or just watched the resort of the game from the stands.