“Gotta Play it Safe”: Florida Gators Slugger Entertains Fans With a Hilarious Celebration to Mock Umpire’s Unfair Decision on His Teammate

Ever since the emergence of the pitch clock in the big leagues, the umpires have held yet another responsibility. Time and again in the recent past, these umpires have been under immense fire for poor and rather impulsive decisions. However, this questionable umpiring hasn’t simply limited itself to the big leagues, and most recently, an umpire made a contentious decision by ejecting a pitcher for celebrating after striking a batter out.

Last evening, as the Florida Gators took on the Georgia Bulldogs, the home plate umpire ejected pitcher Brandon Neely after celebrating an important strikeout in a close contest. From the outside, the reaction looked like a simple fist pump, which seemingly didn’t warrant a suspension. Nevertheless, the umpire thought otherwise, receiving  a fitting response from Neely’s teammate after he smashed a grand slam.

The Florida Gators don’t respond lightly to an unwarranted ejection:

Neely’s ejection was met with boos from the crowd, and as reported by anchor Will Levenson, “#Gators Pitcher Brandon Neely is thrown out for flexing after a massive strike out. Fans are furious. Showering the home plate umpire with boos – for good reason. Not entirely sure how that is warranted of ejection”

Jac Caglianone, a sophomore from Florida, who has already hit 21 homers this season and batted seven runs in, smashed a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth and made sure that his celebration wouldn’t get him thrown out.

Read More: Shohei Ohtani Has an Uber Cool Response to Being Mocked by Los Angeles Angels Teammates for His Blockbuster Skincare Deals

After taking the round trip, as Caglianone approached the dugout, he walked back like a robot, without celebrating at all – but actually an audacious and fitting celebration after pitcher Neely’s ejection.

Stephen Schoch, a college baseball reporter, reported, “Umpire tossed Brandon Neely from the game after his strike-out celebration in the top of the 8th. Jac Caglianone then hits a grand slam and makes sure there’s no reason for him to get tossed too”

Fans were quick to point out the umpire’s mistake, and the that the celebration was only fitting.

This is how fans reacted:

Do you think the umpire was in the right for throwing out the pitcher? As a consequence, was the response by the rest of the team fitting? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Watch this Story: Two-way star Shohei Ohtani seemingly believes his 1st son will carry on his baseball legacy