TORONTO -- Brett Lawrie maintained he had done nothing wrong. But the brash Jays third baseman was bounced by umpire Dan Bellino on Friday night after striking out to end the third inning in a 10-6 loss to Baltimore.
"I didn't do anything. I didn't say one word to him. Not one," Lawrie told reporters later. "Didn't look at him one time. And I'm trouble for that."
Lawrie did dump his helmet on the ground and walk away tossing his batting gloves behind him.
And that was enough to trigger the ejection from home plate umpire Bellino, apparently.
"It was a called strike three, he threw down his helmet and his bat, and was given an equipment fine by the home plate umpire," crew chief Wally Bell told a pool reporter after the game. "As he walked away, in (Bellino's) opinion, he flipped the gloves back in a bad manner and that will get an ejection. That's what it was. He threw them back toward Danny in a way that wasn't etiquette in baseball and he was ejected for it."
Manager John Gibbons came out to protest and was also tossed.
"More or less protecting his player, then he started talking about balls and strikes and was ejected," Bell said.
It was Gibbons' third ejection of the season and first for Lawrie, upping Toronto's total to six.
Lawrie said he threw his gloves behind him "so that the bat boy could come pick up my stuff and take it to the dugout."
"Apparently he (Bellino) took it the wrong way and decided to throw me out," Lawrie said.
The volatile Lawrie was suspended for four games last season when, after striking out, he slammed his helmet into the ground and it hit the umpire.
He said he did not think that such past actions had any impact on Friday night's incident.
"Today's a new day," he said.
"Next time he's got to throw his gloves in the other direction, I guess," said Gibbons.
