Several Braves players said they were surprised and even “shocked” to see umpire Bill Hohn bump fists with Marlins catcher John Baker after the final out of the Braves’ 6-3 loss Tuesday.
While other players and manager Bobby Cox either had no comment or would only discuss it off the record, third baseman Chipper Jones had a scathing review of Hohn’s game, including ejections of manager Bobby Cox and catcher Brian McCann.
“Shocking,” Jones said of the Hohn-Baker fist bump after Nate McLouth struck out to end the game. “But it kind of makes sense, [considering] how the ebb and flow of the game went, the way the game was called.”
“No comment,” Hohn told two reporters waiting near the umpires’ dressing room Thursday when he arrived for the series finale.
When a reporter said he wanted only to ask about the fist bump, crew chief Gary Darling said, “There’s nothing there,” before cutting off the interview and herding Hohn toward the umpires’ dressing room.
Walking backward, Hohn added, “The league reviewed it,” before turning away.
Cox and McCann were ejected in the aftermath of McCann complaints about an eighth-inning called strike against him, which replays indicated was outside.
When Hohn heard someone shout moments later from the Braves dugout, witnesses said he came over with his lineup card and told Cox he was going to eject someone, but didn’t know who. Cox looked incredulous and told him to eject him instead.
Hohn did, ejecting Cox for the second time this season. He also ejected Cox, Jones and reliever Eric O’Flaherty during a June 21 game at Boston.
“He baited O’Flaherty into throwing him out, and he baited Bobby last night,” Jones said. “That was my contention in Boston, that he baited O’Flaherty and threw him out. Then he threw me out for saying he baited him.”
On Wednesday, the Braves trailed 6-3 when Marlins reliever Dan Meyer walked Jones (the first batter Meyer faced) on four pitches to start the eighth inning. His next pitch was a ball well outside the strike zone to McCann.
The next pitch was called a strike by Hohn, and McCann ended up grounding into a double play on a 2-1 pitch. The Braves said McCann never would have swung at the pitch if the count had been 3-0, which they believed it should have been.
McCann watched a video of the pitch in the clubhouse before the bottom of the eighth, then went out to warm up Braves pitcher Boone Logan. McCann said he asked Hohn if he would at least say he got the pitch wrong, and Hohn threw him out.
Braves players were already upset, but became incensed after seeing replays of the fist bump, which most of them hadn’t noticed at the time it happened.
“Never seen it before in my 16 years,” Jones said. “[Players and umpires] exchange banter all the time. But never a handshake or a fist bump. I guess Baker thought he deserved a hand shake.”
Jones was asked if he thought Hohn had it in for the Braves.
“Oh, I don’t think there’s any doubt,” replied the veteran third baseman, who said the Braves were also upset by Jerry Meals’ strike zone in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss. “The last two games’ performance by the officials is something that makes you sit back and wonder. And as a player, it makes you not want to play when that stuff happens. Because you don’t have a chance.”
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