Well this isn’t something you see everyday.
Philadelphia fans have long been known for being, how to put this... vocal. Most of the time, it manifests itself in a number of four-letter words, phrases and oftentimes gestures.
In the 6th inning of the series opener between the Phillies and Giants Tuesday night, a fan was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Bob Davidson.
So what exactly happened here? Leave it to the Phillies beat writers to be on top of things.
Home plate umpire Bob Davidson just stopped the game, walked to the visiting dugout, and ejected a loudmouth Phillies fan. Never seen that.
— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) August 3, 2016
And the fan has been escorted from the premises. I guess he said the magic word. (But I don't know what the magic word is).
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) August 3, 2016
Bob Davidson will not have anyone talking bad about Bob Davidson- which means now everyone will badmouth Bob Davidson
— Kevin Cooney (@KevinCooney) August 3, 2016
Phillies fan has been loudly yelling "you suck" at HP ump Bob Davidson, who stopped play & walked over. He's been escorted out by security.
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) August 3, 2016
Not sure if Phillies fan said anything besides constantly yelling "you suck" at Davidson but he was loud enough to hear clearly in press box
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) August 3, 2016
If this was a case of Davidson looking to confront a fan simply because the fan was heckling him, then Davidson gets all the ridicule that's coming his way. But without knowing all the facts, it's hard to judge his actions.
But this apparently isn’t the first time Davidson has kicked non-players/managers/coaches out of a baseball game.
According to Bob Davidson's Wikipedia page, he ejected a fan for heckling Yadi Molina in '10 and Youppi in '89 for dancing on Dodgers dugout
— Kevin Cooney (@KevinCooney) August 3, 2016
And it is true.
Not the first time Bob Davidson interrupted a game to go eject a fan--https://t.co/DHZwi3NYDp
— Mike Angelina (@MikeAngelina) August 3, 2016
Bob Davidson has been making himself the center of attention for a generation: https://t.co/BfCdOluxXw
— Mr. Snrub (@abitoutside5) August 3, 2016
During the game, the Phillies actually issued a clarification.
From Phillies: The fan was not formally ejected... as security arrived after Davidson point out, fan left on his own accord.
— Kevin Cooney (@KevinCooney) August 3, 2016
The Davidson situation garnered a reaction on Twitter, obviously.
Listen, if you're going to eject a fan, you've got to commit, fire them out of the stadium in a trebuchet
— The Good Phight (@TheGoodPhight) August 3, 2016
Ump Bob Davidson had a fan ejected from behind Giants dugout. You're not supposed to yell at baseball games, apparently.
— Alex Pavlovic (@AlexPavlovic) August 3, 2016
MAKE BOB DAVIDSON BABY AGAIN pic.twitter.com/M2xEnczD3P
— BOT MAKES HATS (@BotMakesHats) August 3, 2016
I have no problem with Davidson doing this. I'm sure others in the fan's section appreciated it. https://t.co/mx6QzjTRwk
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) August 3, 2016
We’re still waiting to hear Davidson’s explanation or what the fan was actually yelling.
@Baer_Bill if he's saying something homophobic/racist/etc I agree with the ejection. But if he's just shouting "you suck", that's weak
— Ken Riegel (@r1288k) August 3, 2016
I disagree. The fan is interfering with other fans' ability to enjoy the game. https://t.co/5XtppRm83v
— Bill Baer (@Baer_Bill) August 3, 2016
But is that the job of the umpire? Or is it the job of stadium security and the Phillies?
Regardless, the Philadelphia Phillies scoring seven runs off Madison Bumgarner was NOT the weirdest thing to happen at Citizens Bank Park Tuesday night.
***UPDATE***
After the game, Davidson talked about what the fan said to get him kicked out.
Here is home plate ump Bob Davidson. pic.twitter.com/V2iECFR9H1
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) August 3, 2016
So Davidson kicked the fan out for saying something about 69th street and him sucking. Clearly, it sounds like a sexual innuendo of some kind, but much worse has been said at sporting events in the past. That Davidson took it upon himself to do the job of stadium security or the Phillies is unusual, although I'm sure fans in this guy's section were happy he was booted from the premises.