Editorials

Dodgers Rumors: Matt Kemp To Be Fined For Critical Remarks

[new_royalslider id=”337″] After winning Game 2 of the NL Division Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers only needed a split in St. Louis to force a decided Game 5 back at Chavez Ravine.

Hyun-Jin Ryu took the mound for the first time in over three weeks and showed little rust as he allowed just one run in six innings. Ryu picked up four strikeouts along the way, but also needed to threw extra pitches due to home-plate umpire Dale Scott’s inconsistent strike zone.



When facing right-handed batters, Ryu more times than not had difficulty in getting the inside strike called. Conversely, Scott’s strike zone for St. Louis Cardinals starter John Lackey was liberal when he faced righties. While some Dodgers complained in-game, non were more vocal than Kemp, who then commented on the matter after the loss.

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, Kemp’s critical remarks were enough to warrant a forthcoming fine:

Dodgers star Matt Kemp will be fined for his harsh remarks about Dale Scott’s strike zone in Game 3 of the NLDS game with the Cardinals, sources say.

Benefitting from a strike zone that appeared to fluctuate, Lackey finished the game with eight strikeouts, including getting Kemp in the sixth and ninth innings — both at-bats had borderline strikes called.

During his ninth-inning at-bat, Kemp got into an argument with Scott after he went down looking on a pitch that appeared to be in the same location as a called ball. It was Trevor Rosenthal’s only strikeout of the inning and the Cardinals went on to win the swing game, 3-1.

Manager Don Mattingly also criticized Scott’s strike zone, though his postgame comments were much more tame than Kemp’s. While it is Kemp who reportedly will be fined, he called for Scott to be punished and that doesn’t appear to be likely, however he was left off the NLCS umpiring crew.

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

5 Comments

  1. That zone had a 4 inch bubble all around it. If we only wanted 82% of the calls to be correct we could have children behind the plate. Matt Kemp is right to be upset. If the calls aren’t being made then it forces the hitter to take swings at pitches that would be taken for balls, resulting in walks. If the pitcher cannot pitch strikes they shouldn’t be given leeway. That’s like a batter hitting a ball a foot to the right of the foul line and being awarded a base hit because the ump thought it would make the game interesting. Scott is obviously in the wrong, and the stats prove it. If anything he should be penalized for every bad call. If a player is not playing at the pro level, they get dropped to the minors. Shouldn’t we do the same with our umpires?

  2. It was a terrible umpiring job the whole series…..I saw Kershaw get squeezed too..that umpiring crew was one of the worst I have seen all season….

  3. It is ALL about the union! Protect incompetence at all costs and fine ANYONE that dares say one peep. It is the same in every sport and those affected don’t even have the freedom to speak their mind. It is disgraceful.

  4. they want to fine kemp for being right come on demote scott to the minors, and they want to fine kemp? what about Molina pushing the umpire when he and Gonzales got into it ,he was only fined 5,000 dollars it should have been a helluva lot more. he should have been suspended. I noticed that scott was giving lackey strikes in the same zone where he was calling them balls when ryu was pitching that should tell you something.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button