That surely wasn’t a normal discussion between the frustrated Padres manager and the umpire. What was expected to be an intense faceoff between the San Diego Padres and the New York Yankees in the Yankees’ series opener turned into a bizarre spectacle. Rather than the hits and home runs, it was more about what was happening behind the plate. The fans could feel the heat. The broadcast booth couldn’t ignore it. The star of the moment? Following a contentious call by the home plate umpire that resulted in Fernando Tatis Jr. being ejected, Mike Shildt got to his feet and confronted the umpire.
During the top of the eighth inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. swung his bat only to find himself struck out. However, he didn’t like the fact that the umpire called the strike much earlier while he was at bat. Following this, Tatis Jr. was seen having a heated exchange of words with the umpire and was thrown out immediately. Manager Mike Shildt stormed onto the ground, clearly frustrated with the umpire’s stance, throwing away his glasses and lineup card.
Who else can do it better than Mike Shildt? Literally no one at the moment. And that’s perhaps the reason fans are calling him the “best manager”. He has always been there to support the team, and this time was no different. Although Tatis Jr. was going through a little bit of a struggle with his average coming down to .317 from .342 in the last couple of days, the Padres’ offense came alive soon after their ejection.
Mike Shildt absolutely laid into this ump after Fernando Tatis Jr. was ejected for arguing balls and strikes pic.twitter.com/nKSUP0YBzo
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 6, 2025
Luis Arraez came to bat soon after that, pushing the Yankees to bring in closer Luke Weaver while taking Devin Williams out. Not to forget Manny Machado’s impressive hitting—he hit a two-out and another two-run double with the bases loaded, which led the Padres to win by 3-2. With Xander Bogaerts then hitting another two-run single, it was the Padres’ first lead, and soon it was enough to seal the game in their favor.
However, Mike Shildt definitely got his money’s worth on the argument, and fans couldn’t keep calm anymore.
Mike Shildt’s confrontation with the umpire draws widespread praise from the fans
There are two things special about the San Diego Padres fans: One, they are loyal. Two, they are thankful to have a manager like Mike Shildt. One comment read, “Best manager in the league.” And it’s true—Mike Shildt has been great. In his second season as a manager of the San Diego Padres, Shildt guided the team to an impressive 17-8 while also leading them to the postseason. He was honored as the NL Manager of the Year in 2019 and has a .559 winning percentage, too.
Best manager in the league
— Chaim Bloom (@stlbirds5) May 6, 2025
“Gonna need a breakdown asap,” a comment came, seeking a breakdown of the whole incident. From the incident, Fernando Tatis Jr. was trying to help the Padres in the high-tension match. However, according to AJ Cassavell’s post on X, Tatis Jr. got tossed after a strikeout and was called strike two despite the ball hitting a few inches below the strike zone. And that’s where it all started—he said something to the plate umpire, Adrian Johnson, who eventually got fired, and later Mike Shildt too, who came to defend him.
Then came more praise: “Man, I love Shildt.” As if the fans cannot say enough about Mike Shildt and are happy that the manager stood by Tatis Jr., dedicating his time and effort to defending him for the controversial call made by the umpire.
“Bro, he seemed calm; why did he get ejected?” A comment came from an X user, who believes that Fernando Tatis Jr looked quite calm and composed. Although he was wearing the helmet, there was no sign of aggression or any verbal spat that would have broken down between the umpire and the player.
Although the Padres won against the Yankees, wrong calls are never a joke, no matter what. Another user on X wrote, “Shildt is sick of Adrian Johnson,” accompanied by a picture of the umpire scorecards, where it can be seen that though the overall accuracy is 91% for Adrian Johnson, the relative accuracy is -2.3% below expected, while having some amount of impactful missed calls too. And one of those is at the bottom of the first inning, where a strike was called a ball.
Do you think Mike Shildt is the best manager at the moment in MLB?
The post Padres Mike Shildt Called ‘Best Manager’ After Heated Umpire Confrontation Over Fernando Tatis Jr. Ejection appeared first on EssentiallySports.
