NEW YORK (AP) -An attempted double switch by the San Diego Padres resulted in a double ejection.
Manager Bud Black and bench coach Craig Colbert were tossed in the eighth inning of Thursday’s 5-3 loss to the New York Mets after plate umpire Todd Tichenor misinterpreted a hand signal and wouldn’t allow a double switch.
Black wanted Edgar Gonzalez, who had pinch hit in the top half, to remain in the No. 9 hole and go to second base, and for pitcher Brian Corey to enter in the No. 2 hole, where Brian Giles had just pinch hit for Tadahito Iguchi.
Black held two fingers up while shaking a hand.
“He misinterpreted what we wanted to do,” Black said. “I thought I had made it clear, but he goes: `I didn’t see it that way.”’
Tichenor thought Black was signaling for “straight up.”
Crew chief Gerry Davis said it turns out the hand signal was immaterial, but that fact didn’t come up during the argument.
“The pitcher was already in the game,” Davis said. “The pitcher is in the game when he’s on the mound. His obligation is to tell us ‘two’ before the pitcher reaches the mound.”
Black was ejected following an extended argument. Moments later, Colbert was ejected while in the dugout, then ran out to argue his ejection.
Because of the umpires’ decision, Giles remained in the game in right, Jody Gerut moved from right to center, Scott Hairston moved from center to second and Corey batted ninth.
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