If you turned off the TV or flipped to another thrilling sporting event after Tampa tacked on a pair of runs in the top of the 9th today in Chicago to take an 8-3 lead, you likely missed Rays starter David Price’s postgame comments about a contentious exchange with home plate umpire Tom Hallion.
Oh fuck, who am I kidding? Like I have any idea whatsoever if there’s a Rays postgame TV show, what channel it might be on and who plays the part of their scoldy Bobby Ojeda (presumably not Greg Vaughn, but like I said, I don’t know for sure). The Tampa Tribune’s Roger Mooney provides the helpful testimony :
Price, upset he didn’t get an earlier called third strike on White Sox center fielder Dewayne Wise, yelled into his glove as he was walking off the mound after inducing Wise into an inning-ending comebacker. That’s when Price said he heard Hallion say, “Why don’t you throw the ball over the (blank)-ing plate?”
A number of Rays said they heard the exchange, including Jeremy Hellickson, who was eventually ejected for yelling at Hallion.
Price said he spoke of the incident to reporters because he wanted it out there. “Something has to be done about that,” he said.
“I’ll come right out bluntly and say he’s a liar,” Hallion said. “I said, ‘Just throw the ball.’ That’s all I said to him,” Hallion said.
No F-bomb?
“I’m denying what he said I said, pretty strongly,” Hallion said.
Price responded with this tweet: “Someone give me the definition of a coward, please.”