Who Is Mike Estabrook – The Umpire Who Ejected Phillies’ Rob Thomson After Indulging in a Shouting Battle?

While the Baltimore Orioles dominated the Philadelphia Phillies, another story took place in the game. It was the all too familiar tale of a team’s staff battling it out with the umpire. However, it is interesting that this time it was the Phillies’ Rob Thomson going ballistic on plate umpire Mike Estabrook. That is a sight one rarely sees but then Estabrook has found himself in such situations before.

Mike Estabrook has been one of the most infamous umpires during his tenure. First appearing on May 7, 2006, Estabrook slowly rose to prominence in MLB. Famous for wearing no. 83, Estabrook became a full-time member of the MLB umpiring staff in 2014. However, while that is a great promotion, Estabrook hasn’t been the one shy of being controversial on the field. That side was once again visible yesterday.

In the sixth inning of the Orioles-Phillies game, Estabrook reversed a call. Initially, he had made a hit-by-pitch call for Phillies’ Garret Stubbs but that recalled it. That led to Thomson rushing to the scene to confront Estabrook. The two then indulged in a massive shouting match that eventually led to the Philadelphia Phillies skipper’s ejection.

The clip immediately went viral as fans have rarely seen Rob Thomson being so angry. However, the same cannot be said about Estabrook. The umpire has previously fought Craig Counsell and also infamously ejected Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost in 2010. 

Interestingly, the Philadelphia Phillies have been on the receiving end of his punishments twice since 2023. With Bryce Harper too falling for an ejection in 2023.

Mike Estabrook’s unreal ejection record

According to Baseball Almanac, Mike Estabrook has made 44 ejections in his 19-year career!  The list starts from 2009, which means that he didn’t eject players for his initial 4 years but then ejected 44 since then. Estabrook has already made four ejections in 2024. They are as follows – Pedro Griffol and Gavin Sheets in April, Lars Nootbaar in May, and Rob Thomson yesterday. However, none proved to be as controversial as Thomson, especially because the Phillies fans already remember a bad experience with Estabrook in 2023.

Last year around the same time, he had ejected Bryce Harper for calling out his balls and strikes. Though that didn’t lead to any fights like yesterday, it did create some noise around the fanbase. However, the real story is that these 4 ejections in 2024 are Estabrook’s highest since 2019. That year he ejected 13 people! While one hopes that the umpire doesn’t break his personal record, the chances are always there.

After all, the struggle between umpires and the team’s staff is only gathering more pace. Is this accelerating the league towards technological advancement? Or is there a way out without robot umpires? Only time will tell.