2019 Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions

Photo by Daniel Millhouse of Luis Urias (using filter)

A new baseball season is upon us and as usual, it's prediction time for the upcoming season. Last season, my predictions included Christian Yellich being a top five candidate for MVP (he won). This year, we'll see if I'm right again at the end of this year.

American League:

AL East: 1. New York Yankees, 2. Boston Red Sox, 3. Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays, 4. Toronto Blue Jays, 5. Baltimore Orioles...

The Yankees were already a power house last season, butt they found themselves in the same division, let alone league, that featured the other most powerful team in baseball. This past offseason, the Yankees loaded up. They improved their starting pitching with the additions of J.A. Happ and James Paxton, retained Zach Britton to form the best bullpen in baseball with Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, and Chad Green added to the mix, they obtained DJ Lemahieu to fill in until the summer when Didi comes back, and they retained Luke Voit, to strengthen their corner. The Red Sox lost their closer and their bullpen is a little shakier this season, which is still good enough to get into the playoffs possibly, but not good enough to stave off the Yankees. The Rays will give the Red Soz a run for second place. On a side note, the Orioles are my pick for the worst team in the MLB this season.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians, 2. Minnesota Twins, 3. Chicago White Sox, 4. Detroit Tigers, 5. Kansas City Royals...

The Indians will take the division again behind a stacked starting pitching staff and the great hitting from Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. What should be taken note is that the Twins will rise up and win over 90 games. Their hitting approved with the additions of Nelson Cruz, C.J. Cron, Marwin Gonzalez, and Jonathan Schoop. Jake Odorizzi also should have a step-up year that will improve the team as a whole. This year is make or break for Bryan Buxton and Miguel Sano. Both have shown flashes of talent and of horror. The White Sox will hit middle ground, but may have a breakout player in Eloy Jimenez.

AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Oakland Athletics, 3. ANAHEIM Angels, 4. Seattle Mariners, 5. Texas Rangers...

The Astros again are the favorite to win the AL West. Despite losing Marwin Gonzalez, they still managed to improve their offense by adding Michael Brantley and upgrading at catcher by adding Robinson Chirinos. Their pitching staff is a top three in the MLB and their bullpen is even stronger by retaining Roberto Osuna and Ryan Pressly. The Oakland A's are in a high ceiling/high reward scenario. They have rookies and younger players who are now in place to break out. Ramon Laureno, Jesus Luzardo, and Jurickson Profar will either step up or fall flat on their faces. If they do, the Angels will be right there to take second and would have been a more sure bet to take second if they had improved on their pitching. The Angels wisely signed Trout to a long term contract, but failed to pick up free agents pitchers such as Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez, Wade Miley, Marco Estrada, or Tyson Ross.

Award Winners:
MVP - Alex Bregman...the easy answer is to say Mike Trout, but Bregman will be in his age 25 season, fresh off a 30+ homer season and appearing to have improved even more during this past offseason. 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. George Springer, 5. Mookie Betts; next 5 in no particular order, J.D. Martinez, Matt Chapman, Tommy Pham, Eddie Rosario, and Jose Altuve.

Cy Young - Justin Verlander...fresh off signing a contract extension, the ace pitcher for the Astros was second place in the voting last season. If he can lead the Astros to the World Series, the writers will surely consider Verlander one of the top candidates. 2. Chris Sale, 3. Corey Kluber, 4. Charlie Morton, 5. Mike Clevinger; next 5 in no particular order, Gerrit Cole, Blake Snell, Matt Boyd, Yusei Kukuchi, Marcus Strohman

Rookie of The Year - Jesus Luzardo...his rise to the Majors has caught the attention of everyone. Match that with a great Spring Training and the A's feel like they have a potential future star for years to come. 2. Yusei Kikuchi 3. Vlad Guerrero Jr., 4. Eloy Jimenez, 5. Brandon Lowe

Breakout Player - Tim Anderson

Comeback Player - Gary Sanchez

All-AL Team - C Gary Sanchez, 1B Matt Olson, 2B Jose Altuve, 3B Alex Bregman, SS Francisco Lindor, OF Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, George Springer, DH Khris Davis, P Justin Verlander

National League:

NL East: 1. Philadelphia Phillies, 2. Washington Nationals, 3. Atlanta Braves, 4. New York Mets, 5. FLORIDA Marlins...

The Phillies have risen and have their best roster since they were led by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Additions of Bryce Harper, Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto, and Andrew McCutcheon to their everyday staff and an established closer in David Robertson, boost the Phillies to a neck to neck finish with the Nationals. The Nats lost Harper, but are still strong in the outfield with Victor Robles, Adam Eaton, and Juan Soto. They also added Patrick Corbin to their pitching staff, who makes for possibly the best number three pitcher in baseball this season.

NL Central: 1. Milwaukee Brewers, 2. St. Louis Cardinals, 3. Chicago Cubs, 4. Pittsburgh Pirates, 5. Cincinnati Reds...

The Milwaukee Brewers hold on to the NL Central, but not by as much as last season. They managed to upgrade at catcher by adding Yasmani Grandal, but their pitching staff is still full of good pitchers, but not great pitchers. Moose Moustakas will be moving over to second base now, which should provide for an interesting experiment, especially when someone slides hard into him while breaking up a double play.  The Cubs may drop down but still can play spoiler and take second place if everyone plays up to their potential. The Cards upgraded by adding Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Miller to their roster which should be enough to boost them to second place.The Reds made some noise during the offseason but may now feature a dysfunctional clubhouse if they let Yasiel Puig influence the younger players making up their team.

NL West: 1. Los Angeles Dodgers, 2. San Diego Padres, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. Arizona Diamondbacks, 5. San Francisco Giants...

The Dodgers will take the NL West again, but their southern neighbors have done enough to close the gap between the two. The Dodgers blew some better trade offers they had in the past for Puig, but they still managed to clear him out of the way, leaving room for them to add AJ Pollock. Once untouchable, Clayton Kershaw's back is giving out on him, possibly due to his unique pitching style, which leaves a giant hole in the Dodgers' starting pitching. The Padres feature the top minor league system in the MLB and some of those minor league stars will be on the roster this season, led by their unsuspected pickup of Manny Machado. The pitching staff is their biggest question mark, but the several of their youngsters have potential to break out this season. If not, the Rockies hitting will lead them into second place.

Award Winners:
MVP - Nolan Arenado...Leader in the National League for home runs last season, Nolan is about as complete of a player one can be. Not only does he hit for power and average, but he has the best glove at third base in Major League Baseball. After being top five in the MVP voting the last three seasons, it's about time for him to take home the award this season; 2. Christian Yellich, 3. Manny Machado, 4. Freddie Freeman, 5. David Peralta; next five in no particular order, Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Trevor Storey, Anthony Rizzo, Max Scherzer

Cy Young - Max Scherzer...For the past six years in a row, Scherzer has finished in the top 10 in the Cy Young voting, including winning it three times. He hit the 300 strike out mark last season and could approach that number again this year; 2. Aaron Nola, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Patrick Corbin, 5. Walker Buehler; next five in no particular order, German Marquez, , Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Zack Greinke, Jameson Taillon.

Rookie of the Year - Chris Paddack...One of several Padres rookies that could be potentially top five rookie of the year picks, Paddack is the most suited to keep his position for the entire season due to his readiness; 2. Pete Alonso, 3. Brendan Rodgers, 4. Victor Robles, 5. Luis Urias

Breakout Player - Franmil Reyes

Comeback Player - Sonny Gray

All NL Team - C J.T. Realmuto, 1B Freddie Freeman, 2B Ozzie Albies, 3B Nolan Arenado, SS Trea Turner, OF Bryce Harper, Christian Yellich, David Peralta, P Max Scherzer

Playoffs:

Wildcards: The wildcards for the American League will be the Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins. If the Twins feature several breakouts as they hope they do, they could even find themselves as the Cinderella team in baseball at the end of the season.

In the National League, the wildcards will be the Nationals (or the Phillies if the Nationals can survive the season without any major injuries) and the Chicago Cubs. The Padres have an outside chance if the stars align just right and their youngsters all break out at the same time, but that is a big if.

World Series: The Houston Astros are the team to beat in the American League, though the Yankees will give them a run at some point in the playoffs. The winner will go against the Washington Nationals. What about the Phillies or Dodgers? Well, the Phils will be a great regular season team, the Nationals have a pitching staff made for the playoffs and youngsters who are too dumb/brash to think they're not ready to make it all the way. The Dodgers health will be their problem and the lack of a stable Kershaw in the playoffs will hamper their chances to go all the way.

It should be noted that Mike Trout will enjoy his new found fortune by watching the playoffs on his theater style screen he's surely to put in his new mansion he'll buy.

In the end, the Astros will take the Series in six games against the survivor from the NL East who makes it that far.

2017 Millhouse MLB Predictions

Former Lake Elsinore Storm player, Hunter Renfroe, looks to take the NL Rookie of the Year.

Photo by Daniel Millhouse

A new season is nearing and it's that time of the year again for the Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions. Often half-right, but still worth checking out, some of these predictions give me bragging rights for the following season and in some cases for life.

American League:
AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Texas Rangers, 3. Seattle Mariners, 4. ANAHEIM Angels, 5. Oakland A's. The Astros will continue to gain momentum as they have for the past few years. Remember when Sports Illustrated had that cover that proclaimed the Astros the 2017 World Series champs in 2014? Well, they were far off. The Astros will win the division while teams like the A's will wonder where they went wrong.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians, 2. Kansas City Royals, 3. Detroit Tigers, 4. Chicago White Sox, 5. Minnesota Twins. The Indians will come out strong as their pitching staff will help guide them along with their new additions such as Edwin Encarnacion. At the start of the off-season, the Tigers had potential to leap-frog past the Royals and contend with the Indians, but they didn't do a whole lot to grow their team. Instead, the Tigers' veterans are just another year older and a little bit more frail.

AL East: 1. Boston Red Sox, 2. Toronto Blue Jays, 3. New York Yankees, 4. Baltimore Orioles, 5. Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays. If the Red Sox can stay healthy and play at least an average level of defense, then they could bounce back and take the East. They could see some competition from the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers have a roster that could potentially take the division, but this is probably too dependent on their veterans staying healthy (they already have an injury to Didi Gregorius) and for their youngsters to prove themselves.

Wildcard Teams: Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays

League Champion: Houston Astros

AL Awards: MVP - Manny Machado; Cy Young - Chris Sale; Rookie of the Year - Aaron Judge; Manager of the Year - A.J. Hinch; Fireman of the Year (closer) - Craig Kimbrel

Silver Sluggers - Catcher: Gary Sanchez; 1B: Miguel Cabrera; 2B: Jose Altuve; 3B: Manny Machado; SS: Carlos Correa; OF: Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Kris Davis; DH: Nelson Cruz

Most Interesting Stories for the AL:
1. Will the Houston Astros live up to Sports Illustrated's 2014 prediction that they will be the 2017 World Series champs?
2. If the White Sox don't win this year, will we see players such as David Robertson, Jose Quintana, and even Jose Abreu on the move?
3. If the Angels don't win, will Mike Sciosca finally be on the hot seat?

National League:
NL West: 1. San Francisco Giants, 2. Los Angeles Dodgers, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. San Diego Padres, 5. Arizona Diamondbacks. In what is perhaps the weakest division in Major League baseball, the Giants and Dodgers will be like kings. The Giants will outlast the Dodgers as they are better coached and have a better pitching staff, but a team to watch this year even though they'll have a losing record is the San Diego Padres. They will have some fun players to watch and may be the equivalent of the 2014 Houston Astros.

NL Central: 1. Chicago Cubs, 2. St. Louis Cardinals, 3. Pittsburgh Pirates, 4. Milwaukee Brewers, 5. Cincinnati Reds. Short of a season full of injuries, the Cubs are basically a lock to win the division. The Pirates should be a team to watch because they can sneak up on the Cards and possibly contend for a Wildcard spot if their younger players step up this season. The Brewers have some nice pieces in place as well, but not enough to be a contender this year.

NL East: 1. Washington Nationals, 2. New York Mets, 3. Philadelphia Phillies, 4. Miami Marlins, 5. Atlanta Braves. The Nationals will take this division, led by their pitching and the bat of Harper. The Phillies will be a surprise with their "no-name" roster, but not enough to capture a Wildcard spot. Injuries will plague the Marlins once again.

Wildcard Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals

League Champion: Washington Nationals

NL Awards: MVP - Paul Goldschmidt; Cy Young - Matt Scherzer; Rookie of the Year - Hunter Renfroe; Manager of the Year - Dusty Baker; Fireman of the Year - Greg Holland

Silver Sluggers - Catcher: Buster Posey, 1B: Paul Goldschmidt; 2B: Jonathan Villar; 3B: Nolan Arenado; SS: Corey Seager; OF: Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, Giancarlo Stanton; P: Madison Bumgarner

Most Interesting Stories for the NL:
1. How much of a hybrid will the San Diego Padres' Christian Bethancourt be? Brought up as a catcher, he's also expected to pitch and even play some outfield this season.
2. Can the Nationals finally live up to expectations? With their youngsters finally getting some experience under their belts, Harper, Turner, and Scherzer look to attempt to take the team to their first World Series.
3. Can the Chicago Cubs repeat what they did last season?

World Series Champions: Houston Astros. In a battle of two teams looking for their first World Series win, the Astros will defeat the Nationals in six games. The Astros pitching staff is built for the playoffs and their younger players are more seasoned now. The difference between the two teams will be the bullpen pitching.

2015 Millhouse MLB Awards

It's that time of year again. With the Major League Baseball season coming to an end and the playoffs around the corner, it's time to announce the winners of the Millhouse 2015 MLB Awards.

American League:
MVP: Josh Donaldson...This was a real close race between Donaldson of the Blue Jays and Mike Trout of the ANAHEIM Angels. Very close in all their stats, the most notable differences between the two players was in the RBI's department. Josh Donaldson led the league with 123 RBI's compared to Trout's. In the runs department, Donaldson also led the league with 122 runs compared to Trout's 103. Trout did field better during the season, playing at a Gold Glove level, but Donaldson wasn't a bad fielder either. Donaldson also was the motivational leader that helped boost his team's play higher while Trout's slump in the month of August was one of the major factors to costing the Angels a wild card spot in the playoffs. 2nd: Trout, 3rd: Nelson Cruz

Cy Young: Dallas Keuchel...in a fairly close race, Keuchel edges David Price out for Cy Young. Keuchel was the pitching leader of the Astros quicker than expected ascent in the baseball standings. In the preseason Millhouse predictions, the Astros were predicted to take third place with about a .500 winning percentage. The biggest difference between Keuchel and Price was their quality starts. Keuchel, even when leaving the game with the opponent in the lead, would leave his team in a better scenario more often than Price. For those who follow sabermetrics, this reflects on Keuchel's WAR which was at 7.2 compared to Price's 3.6. 2nd: Price 3rd: Sonny Gray

Rookie of the Year: Carlos Correa...in what turned out to be a battle between the shortstops, the much anticipated debut of Astros' Carlos Correa didn't disappoint. Correa led AL rookies in homeruns while Francisco Lindor of the Indians led AL rookies in batting average. Lindor had a slightly better glove. Correa also led all shortstops in the American League in homeruns as well. The difference maker is how much they meant to their respective teams. Correa became the motivational leader in his clubhouse, while Lindor played more silently and earned some his biggest hits this season in less clutch scenarios. 2nd: Lindor 3rd: Miguel Sano

Fireman of the Year: Andrew Miller...the Yankees had two relievers that could have contended for this if given the chance. Miller had a WHIP of .86, 26 saves, and a 2.04 ERA. 2nd: Zach Britton, 3rd: Huston Street

Breakout Hitter: Xander Bogaerts
Breakout Pitcher: Shawn Tolleson

Manager of the Year: John Gibbons of the Blue Jays...this was a team that wasn't predicted to be a 93 win team and yet they did. They entered the season, losing their best pitcher in Spring Training, being criticized for having subpar pitching, and a subpar bullpen. The Blue Jays started the season hanging their hopes on several star rookies who ended up not panning out, only to find a couple of other rookies and rarely used players that stepped up big for the team. 2nd: Jeff Bannister 3rd: Ned Yost

Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Brian McCann, 1B-Chris Davis, 2B-Robinson Cano, 3B-Josh Donaldson, SS-Xander Bogaerts, OF-Mike Trout, Lorenzo Cain, JD Martinez, DH-Edward Encarnacion

All-Rookie Team: Catcher-James McCann, 1B-Mark Canha, 2B-Devon Travis, 3B-Miguel Sano, SS-Carlos Correa, OF-Eddie Rosario, Billy Burns, Delino Deshields, Pitcher-Carson Smith


National League:
MVP: Bryce Harper...in a closer race at the halfway point of the season between Harper and Paul Goldschmidt, Harper broke away in the second half. He had a .330 batting average, 42 homers, 99 RBI's, and an on-base percentage of .460. 2nd: Paul Goldschmidt 3rd: Joey Votto

Cy Young: Jake Arrieta...in the closest award race in the NL, Arrieta just edges Zack Greinke out. True Arrieta's ERA was 1.77 compared to Greinke's 1.66, but Arrieta had less run support and struck out more through the season. For those into traditional stats, Arrieta also led the NL with 22 wins compared to Greinke's 19. 2015 turned out to be the year of the pitcher in the National League as at least five candidates could have made decent arguments for the Cy Young Award. 2nd: Greinke 3rd: Clayton Kershaw

Rookie of the Year: Kris Bryant...at the half, Joc Pederson looked like the possible favorite for the National League Rookie of the Year, but Bryant turned up his production. He tied Pederson for most homers by a rookie in the NL and had a .275 batting average compared to Pederson's declining .210. Bryant even stole 13 bases compared to the faster Pederson. 2nd: Justin Bour 3rd: Jung Ho Kang

Fireman of the Year: Mark Melancon...51 saves, a .93 WHIP, and a 2.23 ERA wins the award for this Pirates reliever. 2nd: Jeurys Familia 3rd: Aroldis Chapman

Breakout Hitter: AJ Pollock
Breakout Pitcher: Carlos Martinez

Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle...the Pittsburgh Pirates entered the realm of playoff possibilities last season, so it wasn't a surprise that Clint Hurdle was one of the better managers in the MLB. Getting 98 wins was a lot more than most people predicted, especially in possibly the toughest division in Major League Baseball. Even though 98 wins only earned the Pirates second place in the NL Central, they will be accompanied by the St. Louis Cardinals, who won the division and the Chicago Cubs who won the other wild card spot.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Buster Posey, 1B-Paul Goldschmidt, 2B-Dee Gordon, 3B-Nolan Arenado, SS-Jhonny Peralta, OF-Bryce Harper, AJ Pollock, Andrew McCutchen, Pitcher-Madison Bumgarner

All-Rookie Team: Catcher-Kyle Schwarber, 1B-Justin Bour 2B-Addison Russell, 3B-Kris Bryant, SS-Jung Ho Kang, OF-Joc Pederson, Randall Grichuk, Odubel Herrera, Pitcher-Noah Syndergaard

Photo by Daniel Millhouse

2015 Millhouse MLB Midseason Awards

2015 Millhouse MLB Midseason Awards

American League:
MVP: Mike Trout- It's hard to deny how good he is. He hits for power, he steals bases, he's a strong defender, and he won back-to-back MVP awards for the All-Star game.

Cy Young: Dallas Keuchel- He's finally developed into the pitcher the Astros thought he could be. He is the AL leader in ERA, one of the leaders in wins, and has led the Astros into a surprising first half performance that has impressed the rest of the MLB.

Rookie of the Year: Billy Burns- (although if Carlos Correa keeps producing at the rate he has, I believe he'll take it for the year). Burns doesn't have the power, but he can steal, he hits over .300, and has been a sparkplug for the A's.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Stephen Vogt, 1B- Miguel Cabrera, 2B- Jason Kipnis, 3B- Manny Machado, SS- Jose Iglesias, OF- Mike Trout, OF- Lorenzo Cain, OF- J.D. Martinez, DH- Nelson Cruz

Comeback Player of the Year: Prince Fielder- After neck surgery and a lot of doubts about his returning to full strength, Fielder came back and would be the best first baseman in the American League if it weren't for Miggy.

National League:
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt- In an very close vote, Goldschmidt just edges out Bryce Harper for this spot because of his stolen bases.

Cy Young: Zack Greinke- In the midst of the fourth longest scoreless innings streak since 1961, Greinke currently holds this spot, but could possibly lose it to Max Scherzer if Greinke doesn't produce as well in the second half.

Rookie of the Year: Tied- Joc Pederson and Kris Bryant- In many circumstances, Pederson would be the clear winner, but a batting average that hovers around .230 makes it hard to say he has a clear win over the much anticipated rookie season of Kris Bryant.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher- Buster Posey, 1B- Paul Goldschmidt, 2B- Dee Gordon, 3B- Todd Frazier, SS- Troy Tulowitzki, OF- Bryce Harper, OF- Charlie Blackmon, OF- AJ Pollock, Pitcher- Madison Bumgarner

Comeback Player of the Year: Joey Votto- after hitting only 6 homers and having a severe decline in his average, Votto has nearly tripled his homer total from last season and is once again hitting with a good batting average.

Umpires on the Offensive

In professional sports, it's not uncommon for emotions to run high, especially in pressure situations. Sometimes when this happens and the outcome doesn't go a player's way, on occasion they'll voice their frustrations at those officiating the game. Baseball is no different, but in more recent years a new trend appears to be rising. The umpires are the ones on the "attack".

An umpire is supposed to be an unbiased official who calls the game down the middle. As fans know, this doesn't always seem to the case, but for the most part umpires do try their best when calling balls and strikes, out or safe, foul or fair. When a player or coach disagrees with the umpire and voices their opinion, it's not usually a personal attack on the umpire, but rather something that is more heat of the moment. With this in mind, as long as the player or coach doesn't go on a cussing tirade on the umpire or put on a physical show that for some fans can almost be comedic, an umpire will usually and is supposed to give a little leeway to those who disagree with him.

In the last couple of years though, some of Major League Baseball's umpires have been the aggressor, making the call, then attacking the player the that the call was against. As an official, an umpire needs to be more of a rock and less emotional on the field. Yes, they're human, but at the same time they need to keep their composure more than anyone else on that field. It's hard enough being a player, especially at the pro level, but to have not only your opponent trying to beat you, but also the umpire trying to pick a fight with you, is enough to make a player snap.

In the Atlanta Braves game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 7, pitcher Alex Wood was clearly not getting the same calls as the opposing pitcher, Gerrit Cole. Though not happy, Wood kept his composure for the most part. He never said a word to the home plate umpire Mark Carlson and with his body language, never showed Carlson up either. Wood bit his tongue while the inning continued. After the third out, while walking to the dugout, Carlson followed Wood to the dugout and starts arguing with the Braves pitcher. Wood kept his cool, never yelling, never cussing, and he even smiled for a second as the conversation from his end appeared to be more casual. If you watch the video closer, it appears that Wood mouths the words "Please stop this" to Carlson, referring to Carlson's aggressiveness. That's when Carlson tossed the Braves pitcher out of the game.

"As I was walking away, I guess he decided that it was going to be good to throw me out of the game, which I didn't think was appropriate," Wood said in the postgame interview. "I didn't try and show him up, didn't say anything to him during the inning, didn't even know I got tossed until I got up into the clubhouse."

"I thought they were just talking," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez.

Other similar ejections have occurred this season as well. Bryce Harper felt the wrath of umpire Marvin Hudson and no one on the Washington Nationals even to this day knows why. After calling a (bad) strike on Harper, in a game against the New York Yankees on May 21, Harper stepped out of the box and gradually shook his head. He kept his mouth shut and his head shake wasn't exaggerated by any means. Out of the blue, Hudson tossed Harper.

Hudson was later quoted as saying, "...one thing led to another and I had to run him. I had to eject him."

He offered no exact explanation of why though. Nationals manager Matt Williams was yelling at Hudson from the dugout, but if anything, Hudson should have ejected Williams, not Harper.

When the instant replay rule was instituted, part of the rule that was passed along with it was that managers and players can't argue with the call after the replay call has been made, otherwise there would be an instant ejection. Some people wondered if this would lead to a possible build up of aggression by the players or managers when they disagree with a call, but can't get their two cents in. The irony of it is that it appears that the umpires are the ones with the pent up aggression. Especially on balls and strikes which is the only thing left that players and managers could theoretically argue still.

Two of the top five umpires for most career ejections in Major League Baseball are currently active and are widely known for their quick tempers. "Cowboy Joe" West in a 2011 players poll was voted by 41 percent of players as the worst umpire in the MLB. He is known for his quick temper and ranks fifth on the all-time ejections list by MLB umpires.

Fourth on the all-time list is current MLB umpire Bob Davidson. During an Astros and Phillies game in May of 2012, Davidson bumped into the Phillies' catcher on a strike three passed ball, allowing the Astros hitter to reach first base safely. Davidson then yelled into the Phillies dugout "You think I wanted to block his ass?" before tossing the Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. Several days later, the MLB suspended Davidson for "repeated violations of the Office of the Commissioner's standards for situation handling". It wasn't the first time Davidson had been suspended for his actions on the field.

It's already hard enough to be a player or a manager in baseball. It doesn't help when you not only feel the umpire is purposely miscalling the game, but then the umpire goes on the offensive if you don't look happy about their calls. While players can frequently be suspended or fined for not agreeing with an umpire or for their actions that lead to an ejection, it's rare when an umpire is fined or suspended for their actions. If the MLB took more time to review the actions of their umpires on the field and hold them accountable, it should hopefully improve the problem. If an umpire doesn't improve his on-field actions and aggression on the field, they should be let go since there is no shortage of people trying to make it as an MLB umpire.