Texas Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba won’t be having a very merry Christmas after smacking a home-plate umpire in the face during a Venezuelan Winter League loss on Friday night.
Torrealba, a member of the Leones del Caracas squad, lost his cool in the eighth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Caribes de Anzoategui.
The big-league veteran had worked a 2-0 count against right-hander Alex Serrano in his third at-bat of the game before two consecutive pitches were called strikes, much to Torrealba’s dislike.The catcher then struck out swinging on the fifth pitch down below the knees, prompting his tirade.
The 33-year-old immediately spun around and got in Dario Rivero Jr.’s face, yelling at the ump as he calmly rung him up. Rivero put his hands on his hips and didn’t appear to say anything back to Torrealba, who then pushed Rivero in the facemask with his open right hand.
A suspension of some kind is obviously coming Torrealba’s way, although the severity of the punishment is unknown.
Whatever the outcome, the Leones will probably not miss him. He was batting just .246 with a homer, two doubles and three RBI in 17 games in the Caribbean this offseason. He had singled and grounded out back to the mound in his previous two at-bats on Friday night before the ejection.
In 113 Major League Baseball games this season, Torrealba—who was born in Caracas—batted .273 with seven homers and 37 RBI.
Caracas fell to five games below .500 with the defeat, which left them seventh in the eight-team division.
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