Arizona Bench Coach Ejected After Umpire Calls Quick Pitch Clock Violation

Stephen Douglas | Jun 23, 2024

Jun 23, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach Jeff Banister (82) argues with umpire Ben May (97) after being ejected during the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Philies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4–1 on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies took command of the game in the sixth inning when they scored two runs on Arizona reliever Justin Martinez, who was only able to record one out.

Martinez was promptly pulled and replaced by Joe Mantiply, who was then promptly called for a pitch clock violation before he even threw his first pitch. Mantiply wasn't happy and neither was the dugout. Home plate umpire Ben May appeared to issue a quick warning and then tossed bench coach Jeff Banister who made sure to get his money's worth before he headed to the locker room.

Diamondbacks bench coach, Jeff Banister, was ejected after the umpire called a pitch clock violation before the new pitcher even threw a pitch pic.twitter.com/M2hUsXVZ6y

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 23, 2024

Banister probably didn't deliver his message in the most effective way, but he probably had a point. The scorebug hadn't even come back on screen before May called Mantiply for the violation. It stands to reason he deserved a few extra seconds to get going, but maybe May was worried about keeping the pace of the game moving for the audience watching the game on Roku.

As noted during the broadcast, Banister did spend some time as a big league manager. In fact, he was the 2015 Manager of the Year with the Texas Rangers. During his time with Rangers he was thrown out of 16 games in four seasons. This was probably his first ejection as a bench coach.