Umpire Dan Bellino issued an apology days after he ejected Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner.
Earlier in the week, there were a lot of eyes on the Arizona Diamondbacks-Miami Marlins game on May 4. After the first inning, Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner was checked for a sticky substance by umpire Dan Bellino, who proceeded to stare him down while doing so. That led to Bumgarner saying something to Bellino, who promptly ejected him from the game after one inning.
After all of the talk surrounding the incident, Bellino issued a statement through ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, where he offered his apology for his actions.
“I would like to address my actions on May 4 involving Madison Bumgarner,” said Bellino in the statement, via ESPN “When I began my MLB career almost 15 years ago, I received some good advice. I was told to umpire every game as if my children were sitting in the front row. I fell short of those expectations this week. While I can’t go back and change what happened, I take full accountability. I will learn from this incident, and I sincerely apologize.”
Umpire Dan Bellino apologizes after incident with Madison Bumgarner
Sources told Rogers that Bellino was disciplined for his actions. Despite being disciplined, Bellino is part of the officiating crew for the weekend series between the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros.
During the routine sticky substance check, Bellino checked Bumgarner’s hands but was making eye contact with the pitcher the entire time. That is when the pitcher made a comment that Bellino did not like and tossed him from the game. Bumgarner had to be restrained by various members of his team.
After the game, Bellino told the pool reporter that he ejected Bumgarner for using profanity toward an umpire.
Bumgarner is not facing any discipline for the incident.
