Tony Vitello’s first season in the Giants’ dugout ended with one more burst of heat Sunday at Oracle Park.
In the regular-season finale against the Dodgers, Vitello was thrown out in the third inning after a disputed check-swing ruling involving Mookie Betts. The Giants manager had to spend the remainder of Game 162 watching from the clubhouse, an early start to an offseason following a frustrating year in San Francisco.
Quick facts
- Giants manager Tony Vitello was ejected in the third inning against the Dodgers.
- The dismissal was his seventh of the season, the highest total among MLB managers.
- Mookie Betts was ruled to have checked his swing on a 2-2 pitch from Sam Hentges.
- First-base umpire Marvin Hudson made the call, which could not be reviewed.
- Hentges retired Betts and Freddie Freeman on strikeouts to end the inning.
Los Angeles had runners at first and second with one out when Betts faced Hentges. Betts appeared to offer at a 2-2 pitch, but Hudson, the crew chief at first base, ruled that the Dodgers star held up.
It was the second check-swing decision in that plate appearance to go Betts’ way. Since the ruling was an umpire’s judgment call, there was no replay avenue for the Giants.
Vitello came up onto the dugout railing and directed his frustration toward the crew. Home-plate umpire Ryan Blakney quickly tossed him, but the argument did not end there.
The Giants skipper walked onto the field and exchanged words with Blakney before turning his attention toward Hudson. Hudson came in from first base, and the two stood face-to-face during a tense exchange before separating.
The call ultimately did not change the inning. Hentges struck out Betts on the next pitch, then fanned Freddie Freeman to leave the Dodgers empty-handed.
Still, it was a fittingly raw final image for Vitello’s first year running the Giants: a manager fighting a call in the season’s last game, then heading down the tunnel before the afternoon was over.
