Baseball fans tuning into Wednesday night’s game between the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles were stunned to see MLB umpire Tim Timmons eject the grounds crew attempting to cover the field from the imminent storm but the official says he never actually threw them off the field.
More than a dozen members of the grounds crew were waiting for the go-ahead to cover the diamond in the ninth inning when Timmons signaled in frustration to clear the field.
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Social media erupted over the bizarre sight – ejections happen, yes but the grounds crew?
They hurried off the field but Timmons said he never ejected them.
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“I didn’t ‘eject’ the grounds crew,” he told the Associated Press, via text. “I just didn’t want all of them behind the tarp, especially with the infield in.”
Rain began just minutes later but the Yankees came back to win the game 4-3 after Brett Gardner hit a two-run single, earning New York’s third straight win.
“That’s a situation you want to be in,” Gardner said after the game. “You want to be up there with the game on the line.”
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The Yankees improved to 82-64 and clinched its 29th consecutive winning season, the second-longest streak in MLB history, behind its own 39-year run from 1926-64.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
