Nationals: Style points awarded for latest Davey Martinez ejection

Washington Nationals manager Davey Martinez gets his money’s worth when he gets tossed from a game. Whether the motivation for his theatrics is to get his team riled up, or he really is agitated with a call, Martinez gets after those umpires. This was Martinez’s first ejection since 2019, when he was tossed four times.

Such was the case again in game three against the Chicago Cubs. Trea Turner was called out for running inside the baseline (sound familiar?), and Martinez went berserk. I haven’t seen the running inside the baseline rule called as much as it has against the Nationals since the last Little League game I attended.

Nationals manager Davey Martinez goes off 1980s style in his latest ejection.

For fans of good old fashioned manager ejections, instant reply has been a buzzkill. With plays being reviewed in the dugout prior to official reviews, and then official reviews, judgement calls are limited in games anymore. Even if a manager disagrees with the review (can they argue video footage?) so much time has elapsed they have had time to cool down from their initial, heat of the moment reaction.

Martinez was actually tossed before any of his first base shenanigans, which tells us he said a magic word or two. After struggling to get the base from the ground, a form body slam of the bag emphasizes Davey’s feelings.

What started a little rough, finished strong, with good contact on a kick, as if he was kicking the ball through the up rights in the Super Bowl.

The Wrigley Field faithful loves the dramatic scene, as they saw so many stellar performances when Lou Pinella was rubbed the wrong way during his Windy City managerial days. Pinella’s best kicking performance may have come as the skipper of the Seattle Mariners. However, what took him three tries, Martinez was able to complete in one.

Props to Martinez for not making the argument personal either. He doesn’t get in the face of the umpire and make it about the person per se, he makes it about the interpretation of the rule.

After a show like this, the Nationals could sure stand to run off several wins in a row here.