Washington’s Will Simpson crushed a game-tying home run during the sixth inning on Monday’s 10-7 win over Santa Clara. The infielder celebrated by embracing his teammates and performing a jumping fist-bump outside the dugout.
It was a fairly ordinary sight, but the umpires bizarrely tossed Simpson for an “excessive celebration.”
Here’s the video, which doesn’t show anything excessive.
Simpson didn’t appear to taunt his opponents, and his bat flip was at most mild. This looks to be an unfortunate case of an “ump show” policing any slither of fun out of baseball.
The redshirt junior is off to a fast start, belting two home runs in four games. Simpson batted .281/.355/.507 with 11 long balls last season.
Let’s hope Simpson and other Huskies players aren’t discouraged by the bizarre ejection. A home run warrants a celebration, and there’s no reason to toss a college player for having the audacity to hug or high-five a teammate.