Baseball umpires eject managers and players all the time. But how often do you hear about an umpire tossing a public address announcer?
During Sunday’s Intercounty Baseball League game between the Guelph Royals and Chatham-Kent Barnstormers in Chatham, Ontario, umpires ejected Barnstormers PA announcer Jeff Hopman after he played a sound clip they found disparaging.
According to the Chatham-Kent Sports Network, “Hopman used a sound clip of someone saying ‘bruh’ after a questionable ball-strike call at home plate.” They also noted that Hopman had played the same clip in three prior home games over similar circumstances.
In the video of the incident, Hopman, who was sitting behind the plate, can be seen leaving the stands to an ovation after umpires eject him. The incident took place in the bottom of the fifth.
[Highlight] Barnstormers DJ and Public Address Announcer Jeff Hopman gets ejected from the game
byu/charger03 inIBLbaseball
“Did they throw Jeff out?” asked one of the announcers. “Did they throw Jeff out of this ballpark? Oh my goodness.”
While Official Baseball Rule 8.01(d) gives umpires the discretion to eject any participant “for objecting to decisions or for unsportsmanlike conduct or language,” that’s not often applied to people who are announcing the game.
Along with working as the PA announcer, Hopman is also the DJ for home games at Fergie Jenkins Field.
Alas, Hopman’s ejection was the highlight of the night for Chatham-Kent as they lost 6-3.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.