Nationals’ Martinez Goes Off on Umpire, and a Hot Mic Caught the Fiery Exchange

Washington manager Dave Martinez definitely got his money’s worth for this one.

Not all baseball ejections are created equal. During Thursday’s game between the Nationals and Diamondbacks, Washington manager Dave Martinez made the most of his run-in with home plate umpire Doug Eddings.

And the best part of all? Microphones from the game’s broadcast captured nearly the entire very-NSFW exchange.

With one out in the top of the fifth inning, Eddings called Jake Irvin’s first pitch ball to Arizona’s Carson Kelly a ball. The call drew some critical shouts from the Nationals dugout, which immediately drew the ire of Eddings, who removed his mask to shout back. Though Martinez insisted that the yelling did not come from him, that did nothing to simmer the tension that had clearly been building for some time.

The Nationals’ broadcast team speculated that Martinez was still upset with a call from the previous half-inning, when Washington shortstop CJ Abrams was called out on strikes. Whatever had Martinez upset, he seemed determined to let out all of his frustrations in this exchange with Eddings, which featured plenty of amusing histrionics.

You don't even need Jomboy for most of this one.
Benefits of low attendance/hot mic.😂 pic.twitter.com/vEZ1oWm3kP

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 22, 2023

We’ve seen managers kick imaginary dirt off of home plate, but it’s not often you see one actually lay down behind the dish to prove a point. Extra credit to Martinez for going above and beyond what’s typically expected in these situations, and here’s hoping more managers can draw inspiration from his vivacious performance.