College Player Ejected for Bat Flip - Unraveling Nebraska vs Grand Canyon U

[Lindsay]

Grand Canyon University batter Tyler Wilson hit a grand slam to tie the Nebraska-GCU game, but was ejected by the HP Umpire during his home run trot for a bat flip near first base. What are college baseball's sportsmanship rules and was an ejection all over flipping a bat during a big moment in a game necessary?

We begin the night before Sunday's game in question, with both Nebraska and GCU trading celebrations after executing plays that benefited their respective teams. On their own, these celebrations are, effectively, unremarkable—players are allowed to celebrate success on the field.

The issue came to a head, however, in the 7th inning, with GCU pitcher Nathan Ward's exuberant celebration after a check swing strikeout to end Nebraska's top half. That attracted the attention not just of Nebraska, but the plate umpire who ordered Ward back to the dugout. Nebraska's head coach was seen speaking with umpires during the inning break.

After the game, the two teams met in the outfield and exchange unsporting words, indicating held over resentment, all leading to Sunday's game when Wilson hit his game-tying grand slam and flipped his bat, having held onto it until passing the halfway point down the first baseline.

As for why umpires ejected Wilson for his bat flip, we refer to the NCAA Baseball rulebook.

In addition to the Coaching/Players' Code of Ethics prohibiting unsportmanlike behavior, NCAA 5-17, newly amended for 2023-24, prohibits actions that "reflect poor sportsmanship," specifically including, "Bat flips near or toward an opponent or umpire." The penalty in college is a warning after the first offense and an ejection for any further unsportsmanlike conduct after the warning.

NCAA 3-6-b obliges umpires to enforce these rules: "[Each umpire] is obliged to conduct the game under conditions conducive to the highest standards of good sportsmanship."

The Official Baseball Rule (professional/MLB/MiLB) version of the sportsmanship rule is OBR 6.04, with ejections mandated by umpires' rule OBR 8.01(d).

NFHS 3-3-1f prohibits "any unsportsmanlike act" including taunting (3-3-1c: "carelessly throw a bat") while high school rule 10-1-6 authorizes umpires to eject for these violations.

Video as follows:

Alternate Link: Umpires eject grand slam hitter for unsportsmanlike conduct via a bat flip

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[SeeingEyeDog]

Forgetting that this is a 4 game NCAA series for a moment with all of the escalating emotions...

Let's say you've got this in a FED game...batter hits a go-ahead HR late and like the batter here, flips his bat before he rounds 1B. Has this met the FED rule of "excessive celebration"?

~Dawg

[wolfe_man]

9 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

Forgetting that this is a 4 game NCAA series for a moment with all of the escalating emotions...

Let's say you've got this in a FED game...batter hits a go-ahead HR late and like the batter here, flips his bat before he rounds 1B. Has this met the FED rule of "excessive celebration"?

~Dawg

I'd say it'll depend on the actual game and the teams there.  But for most of the time around here, I'm not picking that booger.

[Thunderheads]

11 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

Forgetting that this is a 4 game NCAA series for a moment with all of the escalating emotions...

Let's say you've got this in a FED game...batter hits a go-ahead HR late and like the batter here, flips his bat before he rounds 1B. Has this met the FED rule of "excessive celebration"?

~Dawg

@SeeingEyeDog .... this is actually a great question for discussion.

Did you read the 'excessive celebration' rule?  I remember this being a PoE a few years back, but don't recall a 'bat-flip' being a part of that (I VERY WELL could be wrong )

If this is a scenario that you describe in a HS Varsity game, ... no way ... I may divy out warnings, but ...no, no ejection for a single highly contested game.

[ArchAngel72]

To me that was looking for trouble where it was not needed.

 

Of course I do not know what was said if there was any verbose things happening during all this.

 

 

[Thunderheads]

1 minute ago, ArchAngel72 said:

To me that was looking for trouble where it was not needed.

 

Of course I do not know what was said if there was any verbose things happening during all this.

 

 

If you're referencing the video situation, then you didn't watch the entire thing.  That was a boiling cauldren of a SH*#-storm waiting to happen

[SeeingEyeDog]

6 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

@SeeingEyeDog .... this is actually a great question for discussion.

Did you read the 'excessive celebration' rule?  I remember this being a PoE a few years back, but don't recall a 'bat-flip' being a part of that (I VERY WELL could be wrong )

If this is a scenario that you describe in a HS Varsity game, ... no way ... I may divy out warnings, but ...no, no ejection for a single highly contested game.

Yes, I remember that POE from a few years ago. I remember it talked about props (guys coming out of the dugout with tiki torches after someone raked one and so on...).

I want to make sure I am making a VERY clear distinction here between NCAA and FED. As Lindsey mentions in her review, the NCAA has specific rules related to sportsmanship and the words "bat flip" specifically appear in the NCAA rulebook as a sportsmanship violation. Rightly or wrongly, the NCAA doesn't want bat flips in their game and have told their umpires to warn and eject under their sportsmanship rules. So, I have no problem whatsoever with how this was handled by the umpire. Now, if you want to discuss whether this should be a rule or how it should be written differently that's fine...that's a whole other conversation. As written, this was adjudicated properly.

But "bat flip" does not appear in the FED rule book. It's definitely a "you have to be there" or "you'll know it when you see it" moment and judgement is involved, no question. I think at the very least this is a warning on the first one to the coach for his entire team and the next sportsmanship infraction by anybody is an ejection whether it's a bat flip or not. Obviously, if someone flips or throws a bat at someone else directly even for a first offense, that's an immediate ejection. Please feel free to add this discussion...I haven't ever seen a bat flip in a FED game although I have seen them in some men's league games. What are you guys seeing? What are you doing under FED?

~Dawg

[The Man in Blue]

Saw a bat flip in FED last year.  I was on the bases, PU got us together to see what I witnessed.  We settled on a low-key issued warning.  He was thinking NCAA rules and wasn't going to let it go.  I didn't think it was over the top (e.g., launched into the air) and it was towards his own dugout.  Coach was fine with it.

One thing I noticed in the video and was surprised @Lindsay didn't call out: whose dugout was on that side.  The batter runner carried the bat down the baseline before the flip, then flipped it toward the first base dugout.  If his team was in that dugout, I would have less of an issue.  As it was, that was the opposing dugout.  Definite action needed to be taken due to the flip itself (it was not a casual flip) and the location where it occurred.

I also would say that action should have been taken when the pitcher was flexing at the hitter he struck out.  Flexing and screaming, OK if you are directing it at your catcher.  Direct it at the hitter?  Now you are taunting, especially when you are celebrating every little thing.

[Thunderheads]

12 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

I also would say that action should have been taken when the pitcher was flexing at the hitter he struck out.  Flexing and screaming, OK if you are directing it at your catcher.  Direct it at the hitter?  Now you are taunting, especially when you are celebrating every little thing.

I would have grabbed that as a warning in a FED game in an instant ... preventative  

[Thunderheads]

12 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

The batter runner carried the bat down the baseline before the flip, then flipped it toward the first base dugout.

I disagree here....  the bat was flipped UP, with his right hand, so the bat was to his right.  I wouldn't go as far as saying it was flipped "toward the dugout"  (but that's just how I saw it)

[The Man in Blue]

12 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

I disagree here....  the bat was flipped UP, with his right hand, so the bat was to his right.  I wouldn't go as far as saying it was flipped "toward the dugout"  (but that's just how I saw it)

 

We all see it differently, that's what makes the world beautiful.  

I see him carry it down the baseline, away from his dugout.  I see him toss it, not towards his dugout.  

I do have a safety issue with tossing a bat up into the air.  

[Thunderheads]

10 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

I see him carry it down the baseline, away from his dugout.  I see him toss it, not towards his dugout.  

[wolfe_man]

"Get 'em out out of here, Blue!"   💨

I know we all see things differently and we all have different mindsets too, so there will be different responses to this no doubt.

This umpire knew the history of the prior days game (lots of borderline excessive celebrations towards the other team) and ending (pretty much a bench clearing), so I feel that this was preventative officiating and within the U1's responsibility per the NCAA rules for Sportsmanship.

Now, do I think that we, as umpires, should be tossing players whose crime is excessive celebration?  That's another story with a whole lot more grey area. 

Do these types of EJ's offer good optics? Probably not,but it sounds like the NCAA wants their umpires to officiate this area, so the umpires don't really have a lot of choice.

 

[Richvee]

On 2/27/2024 at 8:22 PM, The Man in Blue said:

I also would say that action should have been taken when the pitcher was flexing at the hitter he struck out.  Flexing and screaming, OK if you are directing it at your catcher.  Direct it at the hitter?  Now you are taunting, especially when you are celebrating every little thing.

I’m almost positive this action drew warnings from the crew. Another reason the bat flip was really a no brainer EJ. These two were back and forth at each other all weekend. That’s when action has to be taken. 
 

Our college group has been stressing the need to “ read the room”. Be aware of the reactions from the opposing dugout. Be aware of the celebrating team’s actions and where the “ celebrations” are being directed. There’s many variables in how we handle these things. Thats why they also stress we get together as crew and exchange info and thoughts. Identical  bat flips in one game may only necessitate a warning while the same flip in another game may very well be an ejectable flip. 

[wolfe_man]

9 hours ago, Richvee said:

I’m almost positive this action drew warnings from the crew. Another reason the bat flip was really a no brainer EJ. These two were back and forth at each other all weekend. That’s when action has to be taken.

I agree. Watching the video from CCS for the game the night before this EJ, I noticed the PU getting on GCU for excessive celebration after an inning-ending strikeout and the entire team was out of the dugout celebrating - and the PU was yelling at them (you can see him in the video addressing it).

I have no problems with the actions of the umpires here. They handled the situation that they were dealt.  We're not reading, or discussing, a bench-clearing fight between GCU and Nebraska, so the umpires did their job correctly and prevented that from happening by using the rules and taking action upon them when given the opportunity to do so.

At the risk of sounding old, these players celebrate way too little with way too much gusto today.  I was taught to show class and to act like I've been there before - even if it's your first home run.  IMHO, the only reason for the over-the-top celebrations is to try to get in the other team's heads - which is exactly why we have to have Sportmanship rules and warnings read before games now. 

[Richvee]

3 hours ago, wolfe_man said:

At the risk of sounding old, these players celebrate way too little with way too much gusto today.

Just think. It wasn't that long ago players, media, fans were giving Dennis Eckersly a hard time for a little fist pump after a big strikeout. Oh, how we've "progressed" 

[beerguy55]

Just in principle I think we have to be able to recognize whether the action is purely an emotional/adrenaline-fueled reaction, and what is more scripted/intentional and rises to the level of taunting.

If you're getting upset over a fist pump or something similar, your skin is too thin, and you should quite competitive sports right now.

I would also suggest it's pretty easy to see that the Jose Bautista bat flip in the Rangers/Blue Jays playoff game (in that famous inning) was purely emotional and in no way was an attempt to show anyone up.   Some of us are getting way too sensitive if we can't discern between that and a true taunting type bat flip.

[wolfe_man]

1 hour ago, beerguy55 said:

Just in principle I think we have to be able to recognize whether the action is purely an emotional/adrenaline-fueled reaction, and what is more scripted/intentional and rises to the level of taunting.

If you're getting upset over a fist pump or something similar, your skin is too thin, and you should quite competitive sports right now.

I would also suggest it's pretty easy to see that the Jose Bautista bat flip in the Rangers/Blue Jays playoff game (in that famous inning) was purely emotional and in no way was an attempt to show anyone up.   Some of us are getting way too sensitive if we can't discern between that and a true taunting type bat flip.

I don't disagree with your view at all.  In fact, I think it's spot-on target.

But in this particular case, I do think that the umpires got it right per the NCAA rule-set and the circumstances in which they were confronted.  That bat flip, and where it happened, was most likely going to create further drama in that game.

[beerguy55]

48 minutes ago, wolfe_man said:

I don't disagree with your view at all.  In fact, I think it's spot-on target.

But in this particular case, I do think that the umpires got it right per the NCAA rule-set and the circumstances in which they were confronted.  That bat flip, and where it happened, was most likely going to create further drama in that game.

I've always hated the notion of "letting the players settle it themselves"...sure, fine, don't eject and that player gets one in the earhole his next time up...and so on.

I'm Canadian, so I grew up with hockey culture...and of course the fighting that goes on on ice...and that's the same old tired argument...let the players settle it.   The only reason the players have to settle it is because the referees let the bullSH*# go in the first place...someone gets a cheap shot, or a high stick in the head, and the referees don't penalize...now the players MUST enact revenge.

If the officials warn and punish appropriately the earlier incidents, then the players don't (shouldn't) need to legislate themselves.   You get gunfights when the sheriff sits on his ass all day.

[Richvee]

4 hours ago, beerguy55 said:

 

Just in principle I think we have to be able to recognize whether the action is purely an emotional/adrenaline-fueled reaction, and what is more scripted/intentional and rises to the level of taunting.

 

This is literally, almost word for word the directive to umpires from the NCAA.