Player, Umpire and Camera All Ejected From Frontier League Game Amid Cheating Accusation

An independent league baseball game experienced a 61-minute delay during the first inning on Sunday as the result of an altercation which led to both a player and an umpire being ejected.

It’s a rare sight for an umpire to get ejected from a baseball game he was officiating, but that was exactly that case during Sunday’s Frontier League clash between the New York Boulders and Tri-City ValleyCats. 

After Boulders player Tucker Nathans was ejected by umpire Warren Nicholson, tempers flared between the two, who got in a screaming match in each other’s faces. Things escalated and Nicholson ended up initiating physical contact with the player, resulting in the ejection of the first-base umpire. 

Nicholson could be seen exiting the field through the fence in center field, and another umpire who lives nearby the stadium, Lou DeLuise, was called upon to replace him. 

In addition to the ejection of both the umpire and infielder, the delay also featured allegations of cheating from the ValleyCats manager, who just so happens to be former MLB player Pete Incaviglia. According to the Times Union, the Boulders removed their television camera in centerfield after Incaviglia alleged the team was using it to steal signs.

According to Boulders president Shawn Reilly, Nicholson asked the team to remove its (league approved) tablet from the dugout following Incaviglia’s accusations, which ultimately led to the altercation between the umpire and Nathans.

The delay lasted over an hour before play resumed. The Boulders went on to win the game 2-1. Per the Times Union, there was a “minor scrum” between the two teams near the home dugout after the conclusion of the game.