Adrian Beltre and I have a lot in common. We both like going to the ballpark, enjoying a baseball game and catching up with friends. In fact, we both did that very thing Wednesday night -- cracked some jokes and shared some laughs with some old buddies neither of us had seen in a while. It was great, a nice way to spend an evening. I guess that's where the similarities between Beltre and I end, though, because while I was busy eating nachos in the stands, Beltre was getting ejected for crackin' wise with his old teammate, Felix Hernandez.
You see ... well, here, Adrian, you tell the story:
"I was talking BS to Felix. We had a little bet. He told me he was going to strike me out three times and I told him I was going to take him deep. He struck me out and I went to my position and he was talking smack to me.
"I was facing him and I Spanish I told him that in my next at-bat I was going to take him deep over the Monster. I heard the umpire talking to me and I turned around and said I was talking to [Hernandez] and he threw me out."
Beltre was tossed by Dan Bellino, a Triple-A umpire who was called up Wednesday because of the doubleheader. "I have no idea why he threw me out. I wasn't even talking to him."
"It’s frustrating to have a rookie umpire doing something like that, especially with how important this game is for us. I'm not even facing him. I wasn't talking to him. I was talking Spanish and he's behind my back. So how can he take the initiative to take me out of the game in the second inning?
After the game, Hernandez texted Beltre, "You did that on purpose because you didn't want to face me again."
Fortunately for all involved, but especially Bellino, Beltre's head was never touched during any of this.