With a series sweep looking imminent against the Baltimore Orioles this season, manager Craig Albernaz lost his cool. The Orioles suffered a series sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates after they lost the third game, 8-2. During their series finale against the Pirates, following a heated exchange over a controversial call, the home plate umpire did not take kindly to Albernaz and dished out a punishment.
At the top of the third, with the Orioles already lagging at 6-0, Blaze Alexander was in the batter’s box. After the Pirates’ right-hander threw the first pitch to Alexander, Albernaz let his frustrations out against the umpire. As things quickly got heated, home plate umpire James Jean ejected Albernaz from the game. Jomboy Media posted a video of the incident on X.
“‘What the f—k are you doing?’ First career ejection for new Orioles manager Craig Albernaz,” the caption read.
Craig Albernaz is the newly appointed Orioles manager, hired in October 2025. Previously an associate manager for the Cleveland Guardians in 2025, the Orioles’ job is Albernaz’s first as an MLB manager. He became the twenty-first manager in the club’s history.
While Braxton Ashcraft threw his first pitch, Alexander was supposedly not ready. In the video, he can be seen dropping his batting stance and watching the ball go. While Jean called it a strike, Alexander did not think the pitch should have counted, as he was not ready.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
First career ejection for new Orioles manager Craig Albernaz pic.twitter.com/p5ct4OhUKP
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 5, 2026
For a pitch to be valid, a batter must be ready in the box and holding eye contact with the hurler with a minimum of eight seconds remaining in the pitch clock. If a pitch is thrown before the batter is ready, it ideally should not be counted.
Following Jean’s controversial call, the Orioles skipper started yelling from the dugout. After his ejection, Albernaz argued his case for about a minute on the field before heading out.
This is a developing story………….
