Reds minor league manager ejected amid umpire’s wardrobe fiasco (video)

In one of the more amusing videos you’ll ever see, Louisville Bats’ manager Pat Kelly was ejected from a game on Friday night after home plate umpire Takahito Matsuda’s belt broke during an at-bat in the sixth inning. The Bats are the Cincinnati Reds‘ Triple-A affiliate.

You’ll have to watch the video via the Louisville Bats’ Twitter account to appreciate the hilarity of the event itself. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen a player or manager, at any level, ejected from a game while the umpire is putting on a belt.

Former Reds’ bench coach, Pat Kelly, was ejected during a wardrobe fiasco.

During the bottom of the sixth inning, with one out, Bats’ shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez stepped into the batters’ box. Rodriguez swung and missed at the first pitch, and then took the second pitch of the at-bat that was also called a strike.

Rodriguez took exception to home plate umpire Takahito Matsuda’s strike zone, drug his bat along the batters’ box to indicate where he thought the ball had crossed, and was unceremoniously ejected. Bats’ manager Pat Kelly came out to argue, but cooler heads prevailed and the Louisville skipper returned to the dugout.

Errol Robinson trotted onto the field to finish Rodriguez’s at-bat, and after taking a ball low and outside, the infielder fouled the next pitch off his foot. As Robinson tried to gather himself, it became apparent that something was wrong with the home plate umpire’s belt.

Matsuda’s belt broke and the trio of umpires stopped play and huddled around home plate trying to figure out how to solve the problem. Of course, the home plate ump needs a belt to hang onto the bag of baseballs he keeps at the ready.

The solution was that first base umpire Alex MacKay would remove his belt and allow Matsuda to finish the game behind the plate. Apparently, during the not-so-quick change, Louisville skipper Pat Kelly had something not-so-nice to say to Matsuda, and the umpire proceeded to eject the Bats’ manager while pulling the belt through the belt loops of his pants. You can’t make this stuff up, folks!

Kelly then came onto the field and got into the face of Matsuda, MacKay, and the third base umpire Dave Martinez. Kelly eventually relented and returned to the clubhouse. Robinson stepped back into the batters’ box and reached on an infield single. Kelly was the manager of the Reds’ Double-A affiliate in 2019 and was named the Louisville Bats manager prior to last season.