Happy birthday, Craig. Cubs manager Craig Counsell got the worst kind of gift on his 55th birthday Friday night: an early exit courtesy of home-plate umpire Brennan Miller. The call that set him off came in the 5th inning, when Matthew Boyd was whistled for a balk on a pickoff attempt with a runner on first.
Umpire ejected Craig Counsell on his birthday for arguing a balk call https://t.co/Ok5nxYLNPM
Counsell didn't hold back afterward, telling reporters the call was flat-out wrong: "It's not a balk. He hasn't been called for a balk in seven years... the umpire got fooled and made up a call because he got fooled." Boyd tried to plead his own case between innings before Counsell jumped in and got the quick hook himself.
The timing stung. The Cubs led 3-0 early before Boyd surrendered a 3-run homer to Cal Raleigh and the disputed balk helped set up a run that eventually mattered. Seattle ended up outlasting Chicago 6-5 in 10 innings, turning Counsell's birthday into a loss with an ejection attached.
This wasn't some one-off tantrum. Counsell built a reputation for going nose-to-nose with umps over 8 seasons running the Brewers, where he racked up 26 career ejections and became the most-tossed manager in franchise history. Friday's blowup was reportedly his 5th ejection since taking over in Chicago, tying his career-high for ejections in a single season.
Balk calls are one of the rarer flashpoints in baseball because they're subjective by nature — a pitcher's shoulder tilt or a hitch in his motion can get read completely differently by different umpires. Counsell's argument boiled down to consistency: if a move hasn't drawn a balk in 7 years, why is today the day it does? Umpires don't love hearing that theory shouted at them from six inches away, and Miller made the ejection call fast.
Nobody's expecting MLB to strip the balk off the books, but expect Counsell's history with umpires to follow him into every close call for the rest of the season. He's already shown he'll go to the mat over one, birthday or not.